羴 (shān) - Shān — the character for the bleating of & also refers to the smell of mutton or

羴Tone 1

shān ｜ 18 strokes ｜ radical:

姗善

羴 · shān

Shān — the character for the bleating of sheep;

also refers to the smell of mutton or a flock of sheep.

It is a rare character formed by tripling the character for sheep (羊).

Shān — the character for the bleating ofalso refers to the smell of mutton or

Usage highlights

Sheep bleatingMutton smellFlock of sheepTriple sheep character

Synonyms

  • 膻— the smell of mutton or goat meat
  • 羊— sheep (the base character)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The flock of sheep bleated (羴羴叫).
  • The smell of mutton is strong (羊肉很羴).
  • This character is composed of three sheep (三只羊组成羴).

Collocations

  • Sheep bleating(羊羴)
  • Mutton smell(羴味)
  • Flock of sheep(羊群羴羴)
  • Triple sheep character(三羊字羴)

Idioms

  • Three sheep bring prosperity(三羊开泰)
  • The flock's collective cry(群羊羴鸣)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Represents the collective sound or smell associated with sheep, emphasizing abundance or group behavior.
  • Used in some regional dialects or specialized contexts rather than everyday Modern Standard Chinese.
  • Its structure (three 羊) makes it a classic example of a compound ideograph (会意字) in Chinese character formation.

FAQ