| 三国史记 | Sān guó shǐ jì | History of Three Kingdoms (Korean: Samguk Sagi), the oldest extant Korean history, compiled under Kim Busik 金富轼 in 1145. The three kingdoms are Goguryeo 高句丽, Baekje 百济, Silla 新罗. |
| 三地门 | Sān dì mén | Santimen township in Pingtung county 屏东县, Taiwan |
| 三地门乡 | Sān dì mén xiāng | Santimen township in Pingtung county 屏东县, Taiwan |
| 三天 | sān tiān | three days |
| 三天两头 | sān tiān liǎng tóu | lit. twice every three days (idiom); practically every day; frequently |
| 三夷教 | sān yí jiào | the three foreign religions (Nestorianism, Manicheanism and Zoroastrianism) |
| 三姑六婆 | sān gū liù pó | women with disreputable or illegal professions (idiom) |
| 三字经 | sān zì jīng | (slang) swearword; four-letter word; Three character classic, a 13th century reading primer consisting of Confucian tenets in lines of 3 characters |
| 三家村 | Sān jiā cūn | lit. village of three households; name of essay column in Beijing newspaper from 1961-1966, written by Deng Tuo 邓拓, Wu Han 吴晗 and Liao Mosha 廖沫沙, criticized as anti-party during the Cultural Revolution |
| 三对三斗牛 | sān duì sān dòu niú | three-on-three basketball game |
| 三尖杉酯碱 | sān jiān shān zhǐ jiǎn | harringtonine (chemistry) |
| 三山 | Sān shān | Sanshan district of Wuhu city 芜湖市, Anhui |
| 三山区 | Sān shān qū | Sanshan district of Wuhu city 芜湖市, Anhui |
| 三岔口 | sān chà kǒu | At The Crossroads, the name of a famous opera, story from Shui Hu Zhuan |
| 三岛由纪夫 | Sān dǎo Yóu jì fū | Mishima Yukio (1925-1970), Japanese author, pen name of (平冈公威, Hiraoka Kimitake) |
| 三峡大坝 | Sān Xiá Dà bà | Three Gorges Dam |
| 三峡库 | Sān xiá kù | Three gorges reservoir on the Changjiang or Yangtze |
| 三峡水库 | sān xiá shuǐ kù | the Three Gorges reservoir; Three gorges reservoir on the Changjiang or Yangtze |
| 三峡镇 | Sān xiá zhèn | Sanhsia town in Taipei county 台北县, Taiwan |
| 三度 | sān dù | third (musical interval) |
| 三厢 | sān xiāng | sedan (automobile body type) |
| 三得利 | Sān dé lì | Suntory, Japanese beverage company |
| 三心二意 | sān xīn èr yì | in two minds about sth (idiom); half-hearted; shilly-shallying |
| 三思而后行 | sān sī ér hòu xíng | think again and again before acting (idiom); consider carefully in advance |
| 三思而行 | sān sī ér xíng | think three times then go (idiom); don't act before you've thought it through carefully |
| 三教 | sān jiào | the Three Religions (Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism) |
| 三教九流 | sān jiào jiǔ liú | the Three Religions (Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism) and Nine Schools (Confucians, Daoists, Yin-Yang, Legalists, Logicians, Mohists, Political Strategists, Eclectics, Agriculturists); fig. people from all trades (often derog.) |
| 三文鱼 | sān wén yú | salmon |
| 三旬九食 | sān xún jiǔ shí | in thirty days only nine meals (idiom); family on the brink of starvation; in dire straights |
| 三明 | Sān míng | Sanming prefecture level city in Fujian |
| 三明市 | Sān míng shì | Sanming prefecture level city in Fujian |
| 三明治 | sān míng zhì | sandwich; CL:个 |
| 三星乡 | Sān xīng xiāng | Sanxing or Sanhsing township in Yilan county 宜兰县, Taiwan |
| 三星集团 | Sān xīng Jí tuán | Samsung Group |
| 三春 | sān chūn | the three spring months |
| 三昧 | sān mèi | Samadhi (Buddhist term) |
| 三更半夜 | sān gēng bàn yè | in the depth of the night; very late at night |
| 三曹 | Sān Cáo | the Three Caos (Cao Cao 曹操 and his sons Cao Pi 曹丕 and Cao Zhi 曹植), who established the Wei or Cao Wei dynasty 曹魏, and were all three noted poets and calligraphers |
| 三月 | sān yuè | March; third month (of the lunar year) |
| 三月份 | sān yuè fèn | March |
| 三朋四友 | sān péng sì yǒu | friends; cronies |
| 三框栏 | sān kuàng lán | name of radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 22); see also 匚 |
| 三次 | sān cì | third; three times; (math.) degree three, cubic (equation) |
| 三次幂 | sān cì mì | cube (third power, math.) |
| 三次方 | sān cì fāng | cube (third power, math.) |
| 三次方程 | sān cì fāng chéng | cubic equation (math.) |
| 三次曲线 | sān cì qū xiàn | cubic curve (geometry) |
| 三归依 | sān guī yī | the Three Pillars of Faith (Buddha, dharma, sangha); see also 三宝 |
| 三段论 | sān duàn lùn | syllogism (deduction in logic) |
| 三毛猫 | sān máo māo | tortoiseshell cat; calico cat |
