shan
/ʃɑn/adjective
shan is spelled S-H-A-N: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, shan means “unfair, harsh” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in shan?
| Letters | 4: S-H-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.8 times per million words; the 20,906th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is shan?
Shan appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce shan?
- /ʃɑn/
- /ʃæn/
Shan has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Shan.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with shan?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as shan.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: nash.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of shan
- more shan comparative
- most shan superlative
- shand
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shan mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
unfair, harsh
Here man! that's pure shan that like
- 2
Scotlandpoor, low-quality
noun
- 1
A member of a people living primarily in the Shan State of Myanmar (also known as Burma), and in adjacent areas of China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, with about 6 million people.
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to the Shan people or the Shan language.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shan in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Shan people:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | Shans |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does shan come from?
Origin obscure. Perhaps from shand (“worthless”). Alternatively, perhaps of Romani origin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).