Word.ws English Dictionary

kan

/kɑːn/

kan is the archaic form of khan.

Noun (3)

kan (plural kans)

  1. (Japanese) A set of four identical tiles.
  2. (Japanese) A call declaring the formation of such a set.
    Synonyms:
    kong

Meaning of khan

Noun (1)

khan (plural khans)

  1. (historical) A ruler over various Turkic and Mongol peoples in the Middle Ages.
  2. An Ottoman sultan.
  3. A noble or man of rank in various Muslim countries of Central Asia, including Afghanistan.

Noun (2)

khan (plural khans)

  1. Synonym of caravanserai (particularly in Middle Eastern contexts)
    • ‘Guess the name of that,’ she said, pointing to her delicate parts. The porter tried this name and that and ended by asking her to tell him and cease her slapping. ‘The khān of Abu-Mansur,’ she replied.1923, Powys Mathers, transl., The Thousand Nights and One Night
    Synonyms:
    caravanserai
  2. Synonym of fonduk (“inn or hotel in Middle Eastern contexts”).
    Synonyms:
    fonduk

See all 7 meanings of khan

Noun (1)

kan (plural kan)

  1. A Japanese unit of weight, approximately 3.75 kg or 8.267 lb.
    • After having subtracted the bad and uncollectable debt above, the net property was around 32000 kan of silver […]2000, Hideo Yamashita, Healthy Culture and Unhealthy Culture

Noun (2)

kan (plural kans)

  1. (Hong-Kong) A catty, legally defined as 0.60478982 kilograms.

Proper noun (1) capitalized: KAN

KAN

  1. The station code of Khana Junction railway station in India.
  2. The station code of Kananook railway station in Australia.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Kan

Kan (plural Kans)

  1. A unisex given name from Japanese.
  2. A surname of multiple origins.

Synonyms of kan

Forms of kan

Noun
pluralkans
pluralkan
Proper noun
pluralKans

Origin of kan

Borrowed from Japanese 貫 (kan).

Borrowed from Cantonese 斤 (gan¹).

Borrowed from Japanese 槓 (kan).

Words formed from kan

Phrases with kan

Words that rhyme with kan

34 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about kan

What does kan mean?
Kan means a Japanese unit of weight, approximately 3.75 kg or 8.267 lb.
What is kan the archaic form of?
Kan is the archaic form of khan.
What part of speech is kan?
Kan can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce kan?
Kan is pronounced /kɑːn/.
What is the plural of kan?
The plural of kan is kans.

Words near kan in the dictionary

  1. Kamyshlov
  2. kamāncha
  3. kamānchas
  4. kamānche
  5. kamānches
  6. kan
  7. kan cheong
  8. Kan extension
  9. Kan extensions
  10. kan ni na
  11. kan ni na beh

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: kan (page history and authors); KAN (page history and authors); Kan (page history and authors); khan (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-khan.ogg.

Cite this entry: “kan.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/kan. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.