Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced can
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced can, including 参 cān / shēn, 残 cán, 餐 cān, 惨 cǎn. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
can keeps the tongue flat behind the teeth for c (not curled), then glides into an; say it in one beat and ride the tone through.
Initial c
Flat tongue with strong aspiration.
Final an
Keep an short and open; do not turn it into ang.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (参 cān / shēn, 残 cán, 餐 cān, 惨 cǎn) and lock in their tones. 4 common characters share the sound can, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
can turns up here with 3 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: 参, 餐 (2 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 残 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 惨 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing can inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
4 common characters in this group.