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# nan

noun (a nan, nans); also nana, nanna; abbreviation NaN (computers)

«nan» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (informal, UK, Australia, NZ, Ireland) Grandmother; a child's name for their grandma. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nan/#m1)
2. naan or nan bread: a soft flat bread from South Asia (often spelt "naan"). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nan/#m2)
3. (computers) NaN means "not a number", an error value. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nan/#m3)
4. In Irish place names such as Tir-nan-Og, nan means "of the". [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nan/#m4)

### In the lessons

In everyday stories and real speech: "I'm going to my nan's for tea". In the USA children more often say grandma or granny. Phrases: my nan, at my nan's, nan bread.

### Examples

- I'm staying at my nan's this weekend. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nan/#x1)
- My nan makes the best apple pie. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nan/#x2)
- Nan, can you read me a story? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nan/#x3)
- We had curry with nan bread. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nan/#x4)
- Her nan is ninety and still walks every day. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nan/#x5)
- Nan and Grandad came to watch my school play. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nan/#x6)
- One of the most pathetic, beautiful, and typical scenes in Irish legend is the return of Ossian from Tir-nan-Og, and his interview with St. Patrick. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nan/#x7)

### Note

Capital N when used as a name: "Hi, Nan!". Lower case with "my": "my nan". It is friendly and informal, not rude. Not related to numbers except in computing, where NaN is an error, not a value.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «nan» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/nan/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«nan» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/nan.html) on Mova free.