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chan

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chan¹

  • /t͡ʃæn/

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

Clipping of channel.

noun chans

  1. Internet, informal An IRC channel. 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?

chan²

  • /t͡ʃæn/

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

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

noun chans

  1. Internet, informal An imageboard. more niche chans

chan³

  • /t͡ʃæn/

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

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

noun chans

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

Chan⁴

  • /tʃæn/ US

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Cantonese 陳 /陈 (can⁴).

proper noun Chans

  1. A Chinese surname from Cantonese.

Chan⁵

  • /tʃæn/ US

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Hokkien 曾 (Chan).

proper noun Chans

  1. A Chinese surname from Hokkien.

Chan⁶

  • /tʃæn/ US

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

From the Wade–Giles romanization Chan¹ of Mandarin 詹 (Zhān).

proper noun

  1. alternative Alternative form of Zhan, A Chinese surname from Mandarin.

Chan⁷

  • /tʃæn/ US

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

Borrowed from the pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 禪 /禅 (Chán), a development and clipping of Middle Chinese 禪那 (MC dzyen na), a transcription of Sanskrit ध्यान (dhyāna, literally “meditation”). Doublet of dhyana, jhana, Sen, and Zen.

noun Ch'an

  1. uncountable A major Chinese school of Mahayana Buddhism characterized by sudden enlightenment achieved by indirect means, developed in Japan as Zen. It is possible that highly calligraphic painting styles, including the extreme forms of “flung-ink,” began at this time, but probably not under Ch’an Buddhist influence, which figured in the religious life of the dynasty.

    Similar: Zen, Zen Buddhism

Chan⁸

  • /tʃæn/ US

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

From Khmer ចន្ទ (can).

proper noun

  1. A surname from Khmer.

Chan⁹

  • /tʃæn/ US

Rhymes with -æn

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Manipuri ꯆꯥꯟ (cān).

proper noun

  1. alternative Alternative form of Chanambam surname of Meitei origin
  2. alternative Alternative form of Chandam surname of Meitei origin

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: secretary, hon, meditation, park, cheng, chang, shan, parent, lam, sil, chen, jin, chim, gloria, zen, han

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Cite this
MLA

"chan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/chan. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

chan. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/chan

Chicago

"chan." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/chan.

BibTeX
@misc{chan_2026,
  title = {chan},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/chan},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}