Flan is a smooth, custard dessert made from milk, eggs, and sugar, often set with caramel. As a noun, it also refers to a flat, shallow dish used for baking. In everyday use, you might mention a plate of flan at a restaurant or a traditional flan recipe at home.
"We split a creamy caramel flan for dessert after the meal."
"The Spanish custard, flan, is often baked in a shallow dish with caramel."
"In the market, I bought a jar of salted caramel flan to try."
"Her grandmother's flan recipe has been passed down for generations."
Flan derives from the Old French word flan, from Latin placenta, meaning a flat cake or flat bread. The modern custard meaning appears in the medieval period, where flan referred to a flat cake or pastry and later to a custard baked dish served in a shallow pan. In many Romance languages, similar terms denote custard desserts. The English usage solidified in the 17th century to describe a baked, custard-like dessert with caramel topping. The word broadened in culinary contexts to denote the dish itself (the flan) or the dessert, and in some regions, “flan” is synonymous with “crème caramel.” Across Spanish-speaking regions, flan is the classic caramel-tinished custard still widely enjoyed today, often with variations in texture and sweetness. The term’s evolution mirrors European pastry traditions blending custard with caramelization techniques and oven-baking methods. First known English usage appears in 16th-17th century culinary texts, reflecting a translation of continental recipes that used a similar flat baking style and caramelized topping.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Flan" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Flan" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Flan"
-can sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
🎵 Rhyme tip: Practicing with rhyming words helps you master similar sound patterns and improves your overall pronunciation accuracy.
You say /flæn/. The primary stress is on the single syllable, so it’s a short, fronted a like in cat. The mouth starts open with the jaw lowered, then the tongue sits low and relaxed for /æ/, and you close with a clear /n/ at the end. Listen for a crisp, light release of air after /l/ before the vowel blends into /æ/.
Common errors include lengthening the vowel to /eɪ/ as in ‘flane’ or adding an extra vowel like /flæən/. Some speakers insert an /ə/ between the /l/ and /æ/ (making /fləæn/). To correct, keep the /l/ light, move quickly into /æ/ without an extra schwa, and finish with the nasal /n/ immediately.
In US, UK, and AU, the word is single stressed syllable /flæn/. All three share /æ/ as the vowel, but rhoticity matters in connected speech: in US, /r/ is not present in this word but can affect neighboring sounds; in many UK and AU speakers, you won’t hear /r/ either. The main differences lie in rhythm and vowel purity, not the core vowel.
The challenge is the short, lax /æ/ vowel and the rapid transition from /l/ to /n/. Some languages don’t have /æ/ in their inventory, so speakers replace it with /a/ or /ɪ/. Also avoiding a lingering //l/ or adding a vowel between /l/ and /æ/ is common. Focus on a clean /l/ release, a quick /æ/, and a firm /n/.
A unique aspect is that the spelling fl-an maps to a single pronounced vowel sound /æ/. Unlike words with silent letters, flan’s a is pronounced, with no digraphs or silent consonants involved. Practicing with the clean /fl/ onset and neat /æn/ cluster helps avoid adding extra vowels or misplacing the tongue.
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