chan

See also: Appendix:Variations of "chan"

Languages (27)

Antillean Creole • Ch'orti' • Epigraphic Mayan • French • Galician • Hokkien • Irish • Japanese • Ladino • Mandarin • Middle French • Middle Welsh • Nafaanra • Old Occitan • Pipil • Polish • Portuguese • Rendille • Romansh • Scottish Gaelic • Spanish • Tzeltal • Tzotzil • Vietnamese • Welsh • Yucatec Maya

Page categories

English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /t͡ʃæn/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Rhymes: -æn

Etymology 1

Clipping of channel.

Noun

chan (plural chans)

(Internet, informal) An IRC channel.
- 1997, Dominic Donegan, “Is there a #nethack chan on IRC?”, in rec.games.roguelike.nethack (Usenet):
  I tried, but I never get anyone in the chan! I don't know how/where to advertise... maybe we should set up a meeting time or something?
- 1999, Jonny Durango, “IMPORTANT NEWS FOR AHM IRC CHAN!!!”, in alt.hackers.malicious (Usenet):
  If you don't have your password set within a week I'll remove you from the userlist and I'll add you again next time I see you in the chan and make sure you set a pass.

Derived terms

chanop

Etymology 2

From 4chan, a popular imageboard; ultimately from channel.

Noun

chan (plural chans)

(Internet, informal) An imageboard.
more niche chans

Derived terms

Related terms

-chan

Etymology 3

From the Japanese familiar suffix ちゃん (-chan).

Noun

chan (plural chans)

(fandom slang, dated) Fanwork depicting sexual relationships betwen an adult and a minor;
1. (uncommon) or between two underage characters.

Anagrams

Cahn, Ch*na

Antillean Creole

Etymology

From French champ.

Noun

chan

free space; open land

Ch'orti'

Etymology

From Proto-Mayan *kaan.

Noun

chan

snake

Epigraphic Mayan

Alternative forms

kan
⟨𝋤⟩

Numeral

chan

four

French

Etymology

Etymology tree

Medieval Latin chānusbor.

Middle French chan

French chan

Inherited from Middle French chan, from Medieval Latin chānus.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kɑ̃/

Noun

chan m (plural chans)

obsolete spelling of khan
- 1632, La Saincte Chronologie du monde, page 883:
  [...] le grand Chan de Tartarie, [...]
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- 1739, Supplément au corps universel diplomatique du droit des gens, page 572:
  Le Chan de la Crimée [...]
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- 1780, Voyage de Vienne à Belgrade, page 199:
  Les chans de la petite-Tartarie font deſcendre leur origine de Gengis-Kan, dont la poſtérité regne actuellement à la Chine & dans la grande-Tartarie.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

chanat

Galician

Alternative forms

chá, chao
chao, chão (reintegrationist)

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese chão, from Latin plānum. Compare Portuguese chão, Spanish llano.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃaŋ/ [ˈt͡ʃɑŋ]
Rhymes: -aŋ

Noun

chan m (plural chans)

floor
Synonym: solo
ground
Synonym: solo
(geography) plateau

Adjective

chan (feminine chá, masculine plural chans, feminine plural chás)

level; flat
plain

Derived terms

Related terms

References

Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “chao”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “chan”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “chan”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “chan”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “chan”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Hokkien

For pronunciation and definitions of chan – see 曾 (“already; ever; once; previously; etc.”). (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 曾).

Irish

Etymology 1

From Middle Irish nocon, nochon, from Old Irish nícon, nacon, from ní con.

Pronunciation

(before a, o, u, fha, fho, fhu) IPA^(key): [xan̪ˠ]
(before e, i, fhe, fhi) IPA^(key): [xanʲ]

Particle

chan

(Ulster) not
Chan ólann sé. ― He does not drink.

Chan fhanann sé. ― He will not wait.

Usage notes

Used only in some varieties of Ulster Irish. Used only before a vowel sound.

Synonyms

ní (used in Munster Irish, Connacht Irish, and some varieties of Ulster Irish)

Related terms

cha (used before a consonant)
char (used with the past tense)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [xan̪ˠ]

Verb

chan

past analytic of can

Related terms

chanas (nonstandard, 1st person sing. synthetic)
chanais (nonstandard, 2d person sing. synthetic)
chanamar (1st person pl. synthetic)
chanabhar (nonstandard, 2d person pl. synthetic)
chanadar (nonstandard, 3d person pl. synthetic)
canadh (autonomous)

References

Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “nícon”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
MacBain, Alexander; Mackay, Eneas (1911), “chan”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎^[1], Stirling, →ISBN

Japanese

Romanization

chan

Rōmaji transcription of ちゃん

Ladino

Noun

chan m

bell

Mandarin

Romanization

chan

nonstandard spelling of chān
nonstandard spelling of chán
nonstandard spelling of chǎn
nonstandard spelling of chàn

Usage notes

Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Middle French

Etymology

From Medieval Latin chānus.

Noun

chan m (plural chans)

khan
- 1602, Ouverture de tous les secrets, page 3:
  [...] iuſques à ce que le Chan de Tartarie les mit ſous ſon obeïſſance en l’an de Chriſt 1201.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Descendants

French: chan

Middle Welsh

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /χan/

Preposition

chan

aspirate mutation of can
For quotations using this term, see Citations:chan.

Usage notes

The radical (unmutated) form can is very rare. The aspirated form chan appears after a (“and”), while the soft-mutated form gan is the usual form.

Numeral

chan

aspirate mutation of can

Conjunction

chan

aspirate mutation of can

Mutation

Mutated forms of *can*
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
can	gan	can / chan pronounced with /ŋ̊-/	chan

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Middle Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Nafaanra

Noun

chan

vagina

References

Nafaanra Dictionary

Old Occitan

Etymology

Deverbal of chantar.

Noun

chan m (oblique plural chans, nominative singular chans, nominative plural chan)

song

Related terms

Pipil

Etymology

From Proto-Nahuan *čaan-. Compare Classical Nahuatl chāntli (“home”).

Pronunciation

(standard) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃaŋ/

Noun

-chan

at or to one's home or house
Tiajket ka nuchan pal titakwat
We went to my house to eat

Declension

Declension of -*chan*
	singular	plural
first person	nuchan	tuchan
second person	muchan	anmuchan
third person	ichan	inchan

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish خان (han, “prince, lord”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈxan/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -an
Syllabification: chan

Noun

chan m pers

khan (ruler)

Declension

Declension of chan

	singular	plural
nominative	chan	chanowie/chany (deprecative)
genitive	chana	chanów
dative	chanowi	chanom
accusative	chana	chanów
instrumental	chanem	chanami
locative	chanie	chanach
vocative	chanie	chanowie

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English chan.

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɐ̃/

Noun

chan m (plural chans)

(Internet) chan, imageboard

Related terms

channer

Rendille

**Rendille cardinal numbers**
< 4	5	6 >
Cardinal : chan

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Somaloid *can (“five”). Cognate with Aweer shan, Somali shan.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /t͡ɕˈán̪/, [ɕˈán̪]

Numeral

chán f

five

References

Heine, B. (1975). Notes on the Rendille language (Kenya), page 215

Romansh

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin canis, canem.

Noun

chan m (plural chans)

(Vallader) (male) dog

Coordinate terms

(sex): chagna

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology 1

From Middle Irish nochan, from Old Irish nícon, from ní (“not”) + con (“toward”). Cognates include Irish chan and Manx chan.

Alternative forms

(obsolete) cha'n

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /xan̪ˠ/ (before a back vowel sound)
IPA^(key): /xaɲ/ (before a front vowel sound)
Hyphenation: chan

Verb

chan (governs the dependent form of the verb, lenites)

Form of cha used before vowels and fh-
Chan fhaca mi i. ― I haven't seen her.

Chan eil mi fuar. ― I am not cold.

An t-aran, chan ùr e. ― The bread, it's not fresh.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /xan/

Verb

chan

inflection of can:
1. negative dependent future
2. past (rare, usually thuirt)

References

Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “nícon”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
MacBain, Alexander; Mackay, Eneas (1911), “cha, cha’n”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎^[4], Stirling, →ISBN, page 81
Mark, Colin (2003), “chan”, in The Gaelic–English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 129

Spanish

Etymology

From Classical Nahuatl chian, obsolete spelling of chiyan (“chia”). This is the same source as chía, which lost the final n in Mexican dialects.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃan/ [ˈt͡ʃãn]
Audio (Costa Rica): (file)
Rhymes: -an
Syllabification: chan

Noun

chan m (plural chanes)

(Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras) alternative form of chía
- 2002, Rodrigo Crespo A., Comiendo pura vida, page 135:
  Los aderezos de semillas y nueces se preparan licuando semillas remojadas de linaza, girasol, chan...
  Seasonings from seeds and nuts are prepared by blending soaked linseed, sunflower seeds, chia seeds...

Derived terms

References

Ayerca, Ricardo & Coates, Wayne (2005: Chia: Rediscovering a Forgotten Crop of the Aztecs, p. 64

Tzeltal

Etymology

From Proto-Mayan *kaan.

Noun

chan

snake

Tzotzil

Verb

chan

(transitive) to learn

References

Laughlin, Robert M. [et al.] (1988) The Great Tzotzil Dictionary of Santo Domingo Zinacantán, vol. I. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕaːn˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕaːŋ˧˧]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [caːŋ˧˧]

Verb

chan • (滇, 𬉌)

to pour sauce, soup or broth over solid food
chan canh/mắm ― to pour broth/nước mắm

Derived terms

Welsh

Noun

chan

aspirate mutation of can

Mutation

Mutated forms of *can*
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
can	gan	nghan	chan

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Yucatec Maya

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /t͡ʃan/

Adjective

chan

small
Synonyms: chichan; mejen