Dictionary › 沙

沙

shā

HSK 4 Character Measure word 粒

What 沙 means

1. granule
2. hoarse
3. raspy
4. sand
5. powder
6. abbr. for Tsar or Tsarist Russia

Other readings

沙 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• shàto sift; to sieve
• Shāsurname Sha

Example sentences

• 我在沙滩
  I'm at the beach.
• 它在沙发上。
  It's on the sofa.
• 就在沙发上。
  It's just there on the sofa.
• 他吃了些沙。
  He ate some sand.
• 我吃了沙子。
  I ate sand.
• 睡在沙发上。
  Sleep on the couch.

Words starting with 沙

• 沙发shā fā(loanword) sofa; (net slang) first reply to a forum post
• 沙漠shā mòdesert
• 沙滩shā tānbeach; sandy shore
• 沙龙shā lóngsalon (loanword)
• 沙子shā zisand; grit
• 沙哑shā yǎhoarse; husky; raspy
• 沙沙shā shārustle
• 沙特Shā tèSaudi; abbr. for Saudi Arabia
• 沙地shā dìsandy beach or river bank; sand dune; sandy land
• 沙皇shā huángczar (loanword)
• 沙丘shā qiūsand dune; sandy hill
• 沙尘暴shā chén bàosand and dust storm
• 沙土shā tǔsandy soil
• 沙特阿拉伯Shā tè Ā lā bóSaudi Arabia
• 沙场shā chǎngsandpit; battleground; battlefield
• 沙石shā shísand and stones
• 沙包shā bāosandbag; punching bag (trad. filled with sand); sand dune
• 沙门shā ménmonk (Sanskrit: Sramana, originally refers to north India); Buddhist monk
• 沙尘shā chénairborne sand and dust
• 沙丁鱼shā dīng yúsardine (loanword)
• 沙俄Shā ÉTsarist Russia; abbr. for 沙皇俄国
• 沙弥shā mínovice Buddhist monk
• 沙袋shā dàisandbag; punching bag (trad. filled with sand)
• 沙洲shā zhōusandbank; sandbar

Words containing 沙

• 风沙fēng shāsand blown by wind; sandstorm
• 加沙Jiā shāGaza (territory adjacent to Israel and Egypt)
• 长沙市Cháng shā ShìChangsha, prefecture-level city and capital of Hunan Province 湖南省
• 泥沙ní shāsilt
• 流沙liú shāquicksand; (patisserie) (usu. attributive) semi-liquid filling (typically custard); lava
• 金沙江Jīn shā JiāngJinsha River, the upper course of the Yangtze River 长江
• 华沙Huá shāWarsaw, capital of Poland
• 尖沙咀Jiān shā zuǐTsim Sha Tsui, urbanized area in Hong Kong
• 金沙jīn shāgold dust; salted egg yolk sauce
• 豆沙dòu shāsweetened bean paste
• 爱沙尼亚Ài shā ní yàEstonia
• 细沙xì shāfine sand
• 海沙hǎi shāsea sand
• 南沙区Nán shā QūNansha, a district of Guangzhou City 广州市; Nansha, a district of Sansha City 三沙市
• 流沙包liú shā bāosalted egg custard bun; lava bun…
• 白沙瓦Bái shā wǎPeshawar, city in north Pakistan
• 约沙法Yuē shā fǎJehoshaphat, fourth king of Judah (Judaism)
• 西沙区Xī shā QūXisha, a district of Sansha City 三沙市
• 路沙卡Lù shā kǎLusaka, capital of Zambia (Tw)
• 输沙量shū shā liàngquantity of sand (transported by a river); sediment content
• 金沙萨Jīn shā sàKinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• 中沙群岛Zhōng shā Qún dǎoMacclesfield Bank, series of reefs in the South China Sea southeast of Hainan Island
• 加沙地带Jiā shā Dì dàiGaza Strip
• 南沙群岛Nán shā Qún dǎoSpratly Islands, disputed between China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam

Characters built on 少

These share the phonetic component 少 (shǎo), which is why their readings rhyme. Learning them as a family is far cheaper than learning them one at a time.

• 砂shāsand; gravel; granule
• 纱shācotton yarn; muslin

Characters that look like 沙

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 炒chǎoto sauté; to stir-fry; to speculate (in real estate etc); to scalp; to hype up
• 陕Shǎnshort name for Shaanxi 陕西
• 汐xīnight tides; evening ebbtide; Taiwan pr. xì

Sounds the same

Read shā, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 杀to kill; to slay; to murder; to attack; to weaken; to reduce; (dialect) to smart
• 莎katydid (family Tettigoniidae); phonetic "sha" used in transliteration
• 纱cotton yarn; muslin
• 煞to terminate; to cut short; to bring to a stop
• 砂sand; gravel; granule
• 刹to brake
• 鲨shark
• 痧cholera
• 裟used in 袈裟
• 铩(old) spear; lance; (literary) to cripple; to harm; to injure
• 樧Zanthoxylum ailanthoides
• 魦shark family, including some rays and skates