Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced an
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced an, including 安 ān, 案 àn, 按 àn, 暗 àn, 岸 àn. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
an has no consonant initial — open straight into the vowel an, keep the mouth shape steady, and carry the tone all the way through.
Initial a
Start the syllable on the initial a, then run straight into the final n — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final n
Settle the final n into a steady mouth shape first, then lay the tone on top.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (安 ān, 案 àn, 按 àn, 暗 àn, 岸 àn) and lock in their tones. 5 common characters share the sound an, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
an turns up here with 2 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
1st tone
Taking the 1st tone here: 安 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 案, 按, 暗… (4 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing an inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
5 common characters in this group.