Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced dan
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced dan, including 但 dàn, 单 dān / chán / shàn, 石 shí / dàn, 弹 dàn / tán, 担 dān / dàn. Compare tones, meanings…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
For dan, start on d and let it run into an without pausing; keep the mouth moving and hold the tone to the end.
Initial d
Start the syllable on the initial d, then run straight into the final an — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final an
Keep an short and open; do not turn it into ang.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (但 dàn, 单 dān / chán / shàn, 石 shí / dàn, 弹 dàn / tán, 担 dān / dàn) and lock in their tones. 11 common characters share the sound dan, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
dan turns up here with 4 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: 单, 担, 丹 (3 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 石 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 胆 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 但, 弹, 淡… (6 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing dan inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
11 common characters in this group.