HSK 6 · Verbs

侃侃而谈 kǎnkǎn'értán “to speak with ease and confidence” in Chinese

Said as kánkǎnértán

Traditional 侃侃而談

What 侃侃而谈 means

  1. to speak with ease and confidence
  2. to speak frankly with assurance

How to say 侃侃而谈

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale侃kǎn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale侃kǎn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale而ér2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale谈tán2nd tone, rising

Said as kánkǎnértán. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. How tone changes work

侃侃而谈 in a sentence

  1. 他在会上侃侃而谈。

    Tā zài huì shàng kǎnkǎn'értán.

    He spoke with ease and confidence at the meeting.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 一说到电影，她就侃侃而谈。

    Yì shuōdào diànyǐng, tā jiù kǎnkǎn'értán.

    As soon as films come up, she talks about them with ease.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 侃侃而谈 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 侃 (kǎn) with each of its parts in a different colour
侃kǎnupright and honest
  • 亻person form of 人 · rén
  • 口mouth · kǒu
  • 川stream · chuān
The character 侃 (kǎn) with each of its parts in a different colour
侃kǎnupright and honest
  • 亻person form of 人 · rén
  • 口mouth · kǒu
  • 川stream · chuān
The character 而 (ér) drawn as one shape
而érand

而 is a single shape of 6 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidDrawn from a beard. Today it links ideas: and, but.

The character 谈 (tán) with each of its parts in a different colour
谈tánto speak
  • 讠speech form of 言 · yánMeaning part
  • 炎flame · yánSound part

讠 hints at the meaning (speech); 炎 (yán) hints at the sound. Compare it with tán.

How to write 侃侃而谈

侃 8 strokes · 而 6 strokes · 谈 10 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

侃侃而谈 (kǎnkǎn'értán) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 侃侃而谈 (kǎnkǎn'értán). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 侃侃而谈

Words with 而

而且érqiě · moreover而ér · and然而rán'ér · however从而cóng'ér · thus反而fǎn'ér · on the contrary因而yīn'ér · therefore时而shí'ér · sometimes而已éryǐ · that’s all进而jìn'ér · and then锲而不舍qiè'érbùshě · to persevere

Words with 谈

谈tán · to speak谈判tánpàn · to negotiate洽谈qiàtán · to negotiate

More words: Thinking & Talking

讥笑jīxiào · to sneer at记载jìzǎi · to record聚精会神jùjīnghuìshén · to concentrate fully看待kàndài · to regard恐吓kǒnghè · to threaten空想kōngxiǎng · fantasy口气kǒuqì · tone of voice口头kǒutóu · oral

FAQs

侃侃而谈 (kǎnkǎn’értán) means “to speak with ease and confidence” or “to speak frankly with assurance”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it kǎnkǎn’értán: kǎn with a 3rd tone, then kǎn with a 3rd tone, then ér with a 2nd tone, then tán with a 2nd tone. In speech it sounds like kánkǎnértán. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 侃侃而谈 is written 侃侃而談. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type kankanertan with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 侃侃而谈 from the suggestions. Typing kankanertan into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
侃侃而谈 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.