can
[kæn]
The verdict
“can” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #4,597 in German word frequency and used as a verb.
- #4,597
- frequency rank, German
- 3
- letters
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - zeigt die Fähigkeit an, etwas tun zu können; können
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | can |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [kæn] |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #4,597 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “can” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for can is 3 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [kæn]. Corpus data places it at rank #4,597 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for can, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cm", "CD", "Ch", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is can, spelled C-A-N.
Definition
- 1zeigt die Fähigkeit an, etwas tun zu können; können
- 2zeigt die Erlaubnis oder Bestimmung an, etwas zu tun; können, dürfen
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “can”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is C-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [kæn] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “cm” - see the side-by-side comparison. can vs cm
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.