can

[kæn]

/[kæn]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“can” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #4,597) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#4,597
frequency rank, German
1,273
“C” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - zeigt die Fähigkeit an, etwas tun zu können; können

Corpus desk

Index DE-can · can · German

can · rank #4,597 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,597
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,273
  • PHOTO-FINISH Br

Nearest frequency peer: Br (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Häufigkeitsnachbarn des Verwechslers „can“

Peers mit ähnlichem Corpus-Gewicht, getrennt von den Verwechslungspaaren unten

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „can“ gegen die nächsten gerankten deutschen Lemmata, kein Reprint der Verwechslungsdesk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

can vs cm
33% similar
can vs CD
0% similar
can vs Ch
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for can
PropertyValue
Headwordcan
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[kæn]
Letters3
Frequency rank#4,597
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „can“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).canliegt auf dieser Marke:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Br“ (#4,596), „diesel“ (#4,598), „Borussia“ (#4,595). Unter 1,273 „C“-Lemmata liegt „can“ bei #4,597. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for can is neighbouring look-alikes ("cm", "CD", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced [kæn]. Frequency #4,597 among 1,273 “C” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

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

  1. 1
    zeigt die Fähigkeit an, etwas tun zu können; können
  2. 2
    zeigt die Erlaubnis oder Bestimmung an, etwas zu tun; können, dürfen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how can appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He can speak German, English and French.
  2. You can go by bus but be careful!

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

How do you spell "can"?
"can" is spelled C-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is [kæn].
What does "can" mean?
As a verb, "can" means: zeigt die Fähigkeit an, etwas tun zu können; können
What words are commonly confused with "can"?
"can" is commonly confused with "cm", "CD", "Ch". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "can"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "can" is [kæn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "can" come from?
"can" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "can", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ice#4,620VfB#4,574Tal#4,564NPD#4,636

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list