suan
Suan is a romanization that may refer to several words across languages, most notably in Mandarin Chinese. In standard pinyin, two common characters are represented by the syllable suan when tone marks are omitted: 酸 (suān, first tone) meaning sour, and 蒜 (suàn, fourth tone) meaning garlic. The same romanization thus can refer to either concept depending on context.
Garlic (蒜) is a widely used culinary ingredient in Chinese cuisine. The bulb is commonly used fresh,
The character 酸 (suān, first tone) means sour or acid. It is used extensively to describe taste in
Beyond Chinese characters, suan can appear as a romanization of names, places, or terms in different languages.