King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Chinese symbol for “shovel”

铲子
chǎn zi
Traditional: 鏟子
shovel; spade; trowel; spatula (kitchen utensil); measure word: 把 (bǎ)

The closest CC-CEDICT match for shovel is 铲子 (chǎn zi), defined as: shovel; spade; trowel; spatula (kitchen utensil); measure word: 把 (bǎ).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Characters and stroke order

铲 chǎn
spade, shovel; trowel, scoop
radical 167 ⾦ · 11 strokes
子 zi
son, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thing
radical 39 ⼦ · 3 strokes

Traditional forms

Other Chinese words for “shovel”

WordPinyinMeaning
锹 (鍬)qiāoshovel; spade
锨 (鍁)xiānshovel
铲 (剷)chǎnto scrape the ground with a spade (to make it level or to remove weeds); to shovel
攉huōto shovel
铲 (鏟)chǎnvariant of 铲 (chǎn); (bound form) spade; shovel

Related words

Other words that share a character with 铲子.

WordPinyinMeaning
铲除 (剷除)chǎn chúto root out; to eradicate; to sweep away; to abolish
铲平 (剷平)chǎn píngto level the ground (with a hoe, shovel etc); to raze (a building, forest etc)
铲车 (鏟車)chǎn chēfront loader (vehicle); 台 (tái)
铲球 (鏟球)chǎn qiú(soccer) to do a sliding tackle
锅铲 (鍋鏟)guō chǎnwok spatula; cooking spatula
孩子hái zichild
儿子 (兒子)ér zison
电子 (電子)diàn zǐelectronic; electron (particle physics)

See also: Japanese symbol for “shovel”.

Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

Last posts

  1. Are Engraved Bokken Good Gifts and Can You Train With Them
  2. Best Wooden Naginata for Practice and How to Choose Yours
  3. Choosing a Keikogi for Hakama Compatibility and Performance
  4. What Size Hakama Should I Order for Proper Fit
  5. Best Aikido Hakama for Beginners Choosing Your First Pair
  6. Kendo Bogu Costs and Timing Your First Purchase
  7. Best Kendo Starter Sets for Beginners and How to Choose
  8. Best Sword Oil and Cloth Kits for Wooden Training Weapons
  9. Is Hickory a Good Wood for a Practice Sword
  10. Best Bokken for Tall Practitioners Choosing the Right Fit