Han

¹ American  

[hahn] / hɑn /

noun

1. a dynasty in China, 206 b.c.–a.d. 220, with an interregnum, a.d. 9–25: characterized by consolidation of the centralized imperial state and territorial expansion.

2. a river flowing from central China into the Yangtze at Hankow. 900 miles (1,450 km) long.

3. the Chinese people in general, especially those not of Mongol, Manchu, Tibetan, or other non-Chinese extraction.

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Han ² American  

[hahn, huhn] / hɑn, hʌn /

noun

• Hans,
  plural
• Han
  plural

1. a member of a group of Indigenous people inhabiting the Yukon River drainage basin near the Alaska-Canada border.

2. the Athabascan language of the Han.

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Han ¹ British  

/ hæn /

noun

1. the imperial dynasty that ruled China for most of the time from 206 _bc to 221 _ad , expanding its territory and developing its bureaucracy

2. the Chinese people as contrasted to Mongols, Manchus, etc

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Han ² British  

/ hæn /

noun

1. a river in E central China, rising in S Shaanxi and flowing southeast through Hubei to the Yangtze River at Wuhan. Length: about 1450 km (900 miles)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Han
  plural
• Hans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Han

From Kutchin han-gwičin “river dwellers”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Han Hans

President William Lai took part in an emergency evacuation drill as part of Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military exercises that are running from August 5th to 14th.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

As part of this year's Han Kuang, which ends on August 14, Taiwanese and US-made surface-to-air missile systems were deployed in Taipei.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

"One of them was this quite odd category of semaglutide," said David Han, Miller's research mentor and Romo Endowed Professor in the UT San Antonio Department of Statistics & Data Science.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026

Chao, who was on a previously scheduled philanthropic trip, met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng before eventually issuing a statement explaining that McConnell’s condition “did not warrant an immediate return” to the United States.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

“You can recapture the harvests the thieves have taken. You can be remembered by the Han people for your dutifulness.”

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

Hans Vanaken, a 33-year-old midfielder for Club Brugge, has never played outside Belgium domestically but has a goal and two assists to his name.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

"It is a pretty aggressive grower," Hans Paerl, a professor of marine and environmental sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told the magazine.

From Barron's ● Jun. 21, 2026

“A growing housing stock is accommodating fewer people,” said Hans Johnson, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026

We see Hans Holbein the Elder’s magnificent silverpoint portrait of Mathes Roriczer, drawn about 1490.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026

In the contest he was pitted against Hans Matthai, a German immigrant to Canada.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady