tin can, container, jar radical (no. 121)

About this kanji

The kanji 「缶」 primarily means "tin can" or "container." It is often used as a noun rather than a verb. You’ll commonly see it in words like "缶詰" (かんづめ), which means "canned food," and "薬缶" (やかん), referring to a "kettle." Another useful compound is "空き缶" (あきかん), meaning "empty can." This kanji can also be found in "缶コーヒー" (かんコーヒー), which translates to "canned coffee." A note to keep in mind is that while the kanji itself often refers to metal containers, many of its compounds can denote various types of containers in general.

Example sentences

• 缶を開けるのは簡単だ。

  Opening the can is easy.

Meanings across languages

English

tin can, container, jar radical (no. 121)

Tiếng Việt

hộp thiếc

日本語

缶

한국어

캔

中文

罐

id

kaleng, wadah

th

กระป๋อง, ภาชนะ

es

lata, recipiente

fr

boîte, contenant

de

Dose, Behälter

pt

lata, recipiente

Common compounds

• 缶詰かんづめcanned food, tinned food, confining someone (e.g. so they can concentrate on work)
• 薬缶やかんkettle, bald head
• 空き缶あきかんempty can
• ドラム缶ドラムかんdrum (e.g. oil, gasoline), metal barrel
• 缶コーヒーかんコーヒーcanned coffee
• 円缶まるがまcylindrical boiler
• 製缶せいかんcan manufacturing, boiler manufacturing
• 汽缶きかんboiler