sampan

[ sam-pan ]

noun

1. any of various small boats of East Asia, such as one propelled by a single scull over the stern and provided with a roofing of mats.

sampan

/ ˈsæmpæn /

noun

1. any small skiff, widely used in the Orient, that is propelled by oars or a scull

Word History and Origins

Origin of sampan¹

First recorded in 1610–20; from Chinese sān bǎn “three-plank (boat)”

Word History and Origins

Origin of sampan¹

C17: from Chinese san pan, from san three + pan board

Example Sentences

A short sampan ride takes visitors across an eddy of the Shan Pui River.

From New York Times

Excursions include visits to the city’s famous floating markets, bike trips and sampan boat tours.

From New York Times

A boat of American soldiers taking the protagonist, played by Martin Sheen, upriver stops to search a Vietnamese family’s sampan.

From New York Times

“I just left the baskets on the doorstep and ran. I ran all the way to the river and rented a sampan to take me across. Then I walked from the Bund.”

From Literature

In Abdulaziz’s images, there are fishermen and poachers, conservationists and polluters, huge transport ships and tiny sampans as slender and slight as river reeds.

From The New Yorker