cán

cán

See also: Appendix:Variations of "can"

Mandarin

Alternative forms

• can (nonstandard)

Romanization

cán (can², Zhuyin ㄘㄢˊ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 嬠.
2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 嬱.
3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 惭, 慙, 慚.
4. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 残, 殘.
5. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 淺.
6. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蚎.
7. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蝅.
8. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蠶.
9. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蠺.
10. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蚕.

---

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kaːn˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kaːŋ˦˧˥]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [kaːŋ˦˥]

Noun

(classifier cây, cái) cán • (桿)

1. a handle; grip; staff; lever (especially of a tool)
   • 1957, Đoàn Giỏi, chapter 3, in Đất rừng phương Nam, Kim Đồng:

     Cầm chặt cán dao trong tay, tôi bỗng thấy người mình như cao lớn hắn lên; […]

     Firmly holding the handle of the knife in my hand, I suddenly felt as if I were much taller; […]

Derived terms

• cán cân (“balance”)
• dốt đặc cán mai (“dumb as an apricot handle”)

 

Etymology 2

Sino-Vietnamese word from 擀.

Verb

cán

1. to flatten; to crush (especially with rolling cylindrical objects)
2. (figurative) to run over (with a vehicle)

   ...bị xe cán. ― ...got run over by a car.

Derived terms

• máy cán (“laminator”)
• ngay cán tàn (“long face”)

 

Etymology 3

Sino-Vietnamese word from 幹.

Compound part

cán

1. (only in compounds) to work; to manage; to be capable

Derived terms

• áo đại cán (“cadre tunic”)
• cán bộ (幹部, “cadre”)
• cán sự (幹事, “technician”)
• công cán (公幹, “labor”)
• cốt cán (“core cadre”)
• đại cán (“cadre”)
• mẫn cán (敏幹, “diligent”)
• tài cán (才幹, “ability”)

 

Anagrams

• nác