Definitions

kǎn upright and honest; cheerful; to chat idly; to boast; to talk smoothly
kǎn old variant of 侃[kǎn]

Etymology

As trustworthy as spring-water 

About

The character "侃" incorporates the person radical 亻 with the component 侃 on the right, which functions phonetically. Etymologically, it initially conveyed notions of uprightness and earnestness in classical Chinese, specifically in reference to speech demeanor. Over time, its semantic range shifted from describing a quality of speech to denoting the action of talking, ultimately acquiring the contemporary meaning of chatting or speaking freely in informal contexts.

Example Sentences Hide

他们喜欢大山。

Tāmen xǐhuān kǎn dàshān.

They like to chat idly.

他经常调我。

Tā jīngcháng tiáokǎn wǒ.

He often teases me.

不要总是调朋友。

Bùyào zǒngshì tiáokǎn péngyǒu.

Don't always tease friends.

他们一边喝茶一边

Tāmen yìbiān hē chá yìbiān kǎn.

They chat while drinking tea.

他们坐在那里了半天。

Tāmen zuò zài nàlǐ kǎn le bàntiān.

They sat there and chatted for a long time.

他的调让我有点尴尬。

Tā de tiáokǎn ràng wǒ yǒudiǎn gāngà.

His teasing made me a little embarrassed.

大山是一种休闲方式。

Kǎn dàshān shì yī zhǒng xiūxián fāngshì.

Chatting idly is a way of leisure.

他善于用幽默的方式调时事。

Tā shànyú yòng yōumò de fāngshì tiáokǎn shíshì.

He is good at teasing current affairs in a humorous way.