管(かん)

管(かん) refers to a hollow cylindrical object — a pipe, tube, or duct. Used both as a standalone word and as a suffix in compounds.

Compounds

• 水道(すいどう)管(かん): water pipe
• 下水(げすい)管(かん): sewer pipe
• 排水(はいすい)管(かん): drainage pipe
• 鉄(てつ)管(かん): iron pipe
• 血(けっ)管(かん): blood vessel
• 気(き)管(かん): windpipe, trachea

Similar words

• パイプ (from English 'pipe') is used more casually and can also refer to smoking pipes or connections/channels (パイプ役(やく) = go-between). 管(かん) is more technical and appears mainly in compound words.

Watch out

The kanji 管(かん) also means "to manage" (管理(かんり), management), a sense the standalone noun does not have.