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

侃 is a phono-semantic compound. The radical 亻 (person) on the left indicates a connection to human behavior or communication. The right side provides the phonetic element, composed of 口 (mouth) above 川 (river). Originally, the character described a person speaking with an upright and confident demeanor. In modern usage, it has shifted to mean chatting idly, talking boastfully, or engaging in enthusiastic, casual conversation.

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.