<p>No. The Cyrillic script is based on the Greek script, and some other local scripts like Hebrew. The basis for <em>sha</em> is thought to be the Hebrew letter <code>ש (shin)</code>.</p>

<h2>ש</h2>

<p>It's unlikely that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_%28letter%29"><em>shin</em></a> is based on the Chinese character, either. It seems taken from the Phoenician alphabet, where the corresponding letter looks like a Latin <code>W</code>.<br>
It's worth keeping in mind that at the time Cyrillic characters were invented, Russia did not yet control Siberia. So it was very far from China, and contact between China and the west was limited.</p>

<p>But maybe the Chinese character was influenced by these scripts?<br>
It's not impossible, but the earliest versions of the Character look more like a triangle, so the simpler explanation is that it's just a picture of a mountain:</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Pa0OK.png" width="100" height="100" alt="Seal script 山" /></p>

<p>Considering the evidence, it seems unlikely that these characters are related.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-14T03:57:16.087Z
info provided above has been readily available at an obvious single site: google "Cyrillic Sha Ш": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sha_%28Cyrillic%29 (see "History",also mostly well known to most students of Russian, excluding fantastic connection to Chinese)
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-13T12:28:13.500Z
2016-05-13T13:02:15.917Z
2016-05-13T13:02:15.917Z
KWeiss
<p>Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but the Cyrillic Ш/ш (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sha_%28Cyrillic%29">sha</a>) looks like the Chinese 山 (shān) and have similarity in pronunciation.  Is there any actual relation between the two?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-05-13T12:18:26.180Z
Highly unexpected question :) You can keep asking in the same manner: ф(fe)  and 中(zhong) (though the sound components are not similar). Г(ge) and 广(厂)(guang,chang), Л(le) and 几(ji)
coobit
<etymology><glyph-origin>
Is there any relation between the Cyrillic Ш (sha) and the Chinese 山 (shān)?
# Is there any relation between the Cyrillic Ш (sha) and the Chinese 山 (shān)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-05-13)

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but the Cyrillic Ш/ш ([sha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sha_%28Cyrillic%29)) looks like the Chinese 山 (shān) and have similarity in pronunciation. Is there any actual relation between the two?

**Tags:** etymology, glyph-origin

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Highly unexpected question :) You can keep asking in the same manner: ф(fe)  and 中(zhong) (though the sound components are not similar). Г(ge) and 广(厂)(guang,chang), Л(le) and 几(ji)  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-05-13. Score: 26 | Accepted answer

No. The Cyrillic script is based on the Greek script, and some other local scripts like Hebrew. The basis for *sha* is thought to be the Hebrew letter `ש (shin)`.

## ש

It's unlikely that [*shin*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_%28letter%29) is based on the Chinese character, either. It seems taken from the Phoenician alphabet, where the corresponding letter looks like a Latin `W`.  
It's worth keeping in mind that at the time Cyrillic characters were invented, Russia did not yet control Siberia. So it was very far from China, and contact between China and the west was limited.

But maybe the Chinese character was influenced by these scripts?  
It's not impossible, but the earliest versions of the Character look more like a triangle, so the simpler explanation is that it's just a picture of a mountain:

![Seal script 山](https://i.sstatic.net/Pa0OK.png)

Considering the evidence, it seems unlikely that these characters are related.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: info provided above has been readily available at an obvious single site: google "Cyrillic Sha Ш": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sha_%28Cyrillic%29 (see "History",also mostly well known to most students of Russian, excluding fantastic connection to Chinese)  

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