From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsampansam‧pan /ˈsæmpæn/ noun [countable] TTWa small boat used in China and Southeast Asia
Examples from the Corpus
sampan• Motorized barges, sampans and lighters were moving on the water.• The net on the sampan was swinging a little, in a light wind.Origin sampan (1600-1700) Chinese sanban, from san “three” + ban “board, plank” 