sanshin
noun
sanshin is spelled S-A-N-S-H-I-N: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 71 million words in written English, the 265,644th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sanshin means “A three-stringed instrument of Okinawan origin, the precursor to the shamisen” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sanshin is sanshins.
How many letters and syllables are in sanshin?
| Letters | 7: S-A-N-S-H-I-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 71 million words; the 265,644th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sanshin?
Sanshin appears about once in every 71 million words in written English, the 265,644th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of sanshin
- sanshins plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sanshin mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A three-stringed instrument of Okinawan origin, the precursor to the shamisen.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does sanshin come from?
Borrowed from Japanese 三線 (sanshin) or Okinawan 三線 (sanshin, literally “three strings”). Doublet of sanxian.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).