Ahmed Ibrahim
Hi there is different between tins and cans please
Sep 10, 2022 3:25 PM
Answers · 5
2
Hi Ahmed! There's not really a difference. In the US, we usually say "cans", while in the UK I think it's more common to say "tins", but they both refer to a metal can that usually holds some sort of food. It's the same thing, just different ways of saying it. Hope that helps! Ryan
September 10, 2022
Invitee
1
Hey Ahmed, I love Dan’s answer as it’s informative and shows the quirky changes of English through the years. We too say ‘tin cans’ in Australia to describe any type of metal that contains and seals food. We also say ‘can’ or ‘tin’ to describe the same. In Australia we even use the words ‘tin can’ for many slang purposes. For example; a small fishing boat. ;)
September 12, 2022
1
There's no difference. They are usually called "tins" in the UK, and "cans" (sometimes "tin cans") in the US. "Cans" is short for "canister," and the use of sealed metal canisters to preserve food was invented in the early 1810s. The first cans were made of tin. Tin is the name of a soft, easily-shaped metal. A web search tells me that "tin" is القصدير in Arabic. So, food was preserved in "tin cans." For some reason, in the UK and the US the phrase became shortened in different ways: "tins" in the UK and "cans" in the US. "Tin cans" are no longer made from tin, they are made from steel, but the name persists.
September 10, 2022
Invitee
Ahmed, they are very close in meaning and most people dont make a difference between them in speech. But technically, a can us cylindrical, while a tin is is usually rectangular, quite flat and almost exclusively used for fish, like a tin of sardines. Hope this helps
September 10, 2022
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