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• San
  San

  noun

  a member of a nomadic aboriginal people of southern Africa.
• -san
  -san

  a suffix used in Japanese as a term of respect after names or titles.
• san
  san

  noun

  short for sanatorium

San

¹ American  

[sahn] / sɑn /

noun

• Sans,
  plural
• San
  plural

1. a member of a nomadic aboriginal people of southern Africa.

2. any of more than a dozen related Khoisan languages spoken by the San.

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San ² American  

[sahn] / sɑn /

noun

1. a river in central Europe, flowing from the Carpathian Mountains in W Ukraine through SE Poland into the Vistula: battles 1914–15. About 280 miles (450 km) long.

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-san ³ American  

1. a suffix used in Japanese as a term of respect after names or titles.

   Suzuki-san; samurai-san.

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San ¹ British  

/ sɑːn /

noun

1. an aboriginal people of southern Africa

2. a group of the Khoisan languages, spoken mostly by Bushmen

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San ² British  

/ sɑːn /

noun

1. a river in E central Europe, rising in W Ukraine and flowing northwest across SE Poland to the Vistula River. Length: about 450 km (280 miles)

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san ³ British  

/ sæn /

noun

1. old-fashioned short for sanatorium

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• San
  plural
• Sans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of -san

< Japanese, contraction of -sama suffix denoting direction, appearance, respect

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

San san Sans

In Burma, the revered revolutionary figure Aung San warmed to Imperial Japan because it had helped create the Burma Independence Army.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

What started as a small summer-solstice gathering on San Francisco’s Baker Beach in 1986 now draws typically 70,000 festival-goers, although that number varies each year.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

The Rams lose to the San Francisco 49ers 27-7 in the 2026 season opener at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia on Friday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

San Francisco 49ers recorded a dominant 27-7 victory over Super Bowl favourites Los Angeles Rams in front of a crowd of more than 100,000 at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

My eyes drilled into Ma, pleading with her to put a stop to this mess and send Auntie Matchmaker back to San Francisco.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Alcoa san k 7% after the aluminum producer’s first-quarter earnings and revenue fell short of analysts’ expectations.

From Barron's ● Apr. 17, 2026

Miyazaki san responded, “I am making this movie because I do not have the answer.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2023

“Miyazaki san is a master of that stature.”

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 8, 2023

The pair, Sean Turnell, a former adviser to deposed Myanmar leader Aung san Suu Kyi and Vicky Bowman, were headed to Bangkok on an evening flight, the source said.

From Reuters ● Nov. 17, 2022

Instead, she kept her eye out for the san Francisco international airport sign.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

This included posting a tweet featuring the slogan "Get Brexit Done" in Comic Sans, a font loathed by graphic designers.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Then, enter Comic Sans typeface — a perfect dash of irony.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026

The destruction of water and sanitation facilities has led to "disastrous health consequences for the population", said Dr Natalie Roberts, executive director of Medecins Sans Frontieres UK.

From BBC ● May 8, 2024

But Doctors Without Borders, known in French as Médecins Sans Frontières, confirmed that’s not the case.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 1, 2023

He had a few dollars in his pocket from the last job and he had an uncle in San Francisco or one of the other California Sans.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt