Do native speakers have trouble understanding "CAN" and "CAN'T"?

I would say they are usually distinct, but once in a while someone might have to ask "You can, or you can't?" even between native speakers.

Native speakers can usually understand the different, but do occasionally have trouble.

Intonation is different

Often (not always), "can" is pronounced with a schwa sound, kind of like "kin" or "kun." When someone is saying "can't", the short 'a' sound is definitely more pronounced.

Very rarely we may mishear it, but in general no.

Korn is not the ideal way to learn English from music

You're not alone in mishearing those Lyrics, they're listed as "can" in many examples, and subtitled as such on their Youtube channel, on other lyrics sites it's "can't". They aren't listed in the album booklet. It's also possible that the ambiguity is intentional, to provide a double meaning, "I can see" as being aware that you are going blind. One of the differences is that "can" can be reduced (to /kən/), whereas "can't" can't be reduced. What I've heard from some Americans (such as Obama) is /kən/ for "can" , and /kæn/ for "can't". In English dialects with the trap-bath split, "can" is /kæn/(or /kən/) and can't is /kɑːnt/, so they able to be distinguished even if the /t/ is not pronounced. Some dialects in England that don't normally have the trap-bath split, use it for these words specifically. Geoff Lindsey even has a video on the subject, regarding strong and weak forms. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlbGtEg68x4&t=13s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlbGtEg68x4&t=13s)

[This is a great video on the topic](https://youtu.be/qlbGtEg68x4?si=5zvWtECPBmK-yxFJ) The best thing to look out for is, generally, the n sound at the end of "can" is very soft and often slurred into the next sound. Meanwhile the end of "can't" is very hard cut with a full stop in the sound.

I don't have this problem with can/can't in general, but I will say that Korn is a loud rock band and so it can be challenging to make out their lyrics. 

Yeah, the pronunciation can be fairly subtle at times. But it's generally more obvious based on the context (in your example above, "I can see, I'm going blind" might not make sense), or by tone - if a sentence is "I can/can't \[do something positive\]", and the tone is happy/upbeat, then they said "can". If their tone is sad/downbeat, it's more like they said "can't".

stop consonants like T are usually very obvious when spoken. unless the word "CAN" itself is emphasized, the way "can" and "can't" are said and stressed are usually different. Don't worry. I can DO it. /kin/ Oh no... I CAN'T do it. /kaent/

I have no problems differentiating the two. And for the record the lyrics ARE, “I can see I’m going blind.” I double checked because you made me think I’ve been hearing it wrong all these years.

It's not particularly unusual to have to ask for clarification regarding can/can't, if it isn't clear by context. Same as with 15 and 50. If you have to ask for repetition, no big deal. Important: the main audible difference between the two words is **not** to *t* sound. In *can't*, the main vowel is pronounced fully, while in *can*, in natural colloquial speech, the vowel is reduced to a very soft eh, uh, or ih sound, or even deleted entirely.

For those of us who do speak dialects where they could be confused, we have unofficial ways of naturally distinguishing them when context doesn't otherwise make it clear: >I can understand → pronounced "I'cn understand" /ˈaɪ̯kən/ I can't imagine → instead, "I c'not imagine" /kəˈnɑʔ\~kəˈnɒt/ if there's concern of confusion

Sometimes, yes. You just have to take context into account. Like in the example you gave: it can only make sense if the word is "can't". Or failing that, ask for clarification if possible.

In American English: Can is pronounced [K-n] or kin Can't is pronounced [kaynn] or kan The reason natives never mix up the two is that "can't" is long and "can" is short.

I’m not a native speaker but the British pronunciation for Can’t and can is relatively easy to understand. But in US English this pronunciation is not easy to understand the difference for a non native speaker.

I think the key to understanding the difference is to pay attention to the tone. I’m not exactly sure how to explain it, but for a lot of Californians the tone goes down for “can’t”. It’s like “I can” versus “I kyee-ant”

Yeah, sometimes, but not usually

In everyday speech in my dialect, we regularly have to clarify whether we’re saying can or can’t if the context doesn’t make it clear. The t at the end of words like can’t often ends up as more of a glottal stop or even disappearing altogether, resulting in the only audible difference between “can” and “can’t” being intonation

When I say it the A sounds are completely different. Long with CAN’T and short with CAN.

Around here they have different vowels - “can” is like “Ken”, can’t is like “tin can”.

I pronounce the vowel in "can't" but not in "can".

No. It’s actually not the t sound that at least general American speakers are looking for…because it’s not there. Can even in the most formal of speak is in a weak form. It’s pronounced more like “cin”. Whereas can’t is always a strong form it’s pronounced with the a sound and the n generally has a glottal stop after it. This is actually a big part of English. Weak forms are part of the grammar. Negatives don’t tend to ever be pronounced in its weak form. Weak forms are not a feature of casual speech. The king of England uses them. They are a fundamental part of the English language that not enough learning resources emphasize and few l1 speakers even realize is a thing.

In my accent, Can rhymes with plan and Can't rhymes with aren't. So no, I don't misunderstand them. When an American says them, I can tell which was used by the intonation of the rest of the sentence or the timing.

Songs are often hard to understand. It’s almost a running joke that so many people screw up lyrics. Otherwise, no. If for some reason I can’t hear, I ask.

Outside of music, which can distort sounds, this is more of a problem with some accents than others. Even as a native speaker that watches a lot of media with various English accents and dialects, there are rare times that I have to rewind something or put on subtitles. It's not very common, though. If you're having a hard time with it when talking with someone, just ask for clarification. No one will mind.

Not really honestly

No. Because they are pronounced with different vowels where I live.

I feel they're easier to distinguish in normal rapid speech than when slowed for emphasis (unless you really say the "t".) "Can" is normally pronounced like "kn~kin", while "can't" actually has the full short "a" vowel. Stretching out the vowel makes the words more similar except for the "t".

I can't (lol) believe how many people are saying we never mix the two up. I feel like this happens pretty often. Maybe the difference is stronger for Americans but I feel like in the UK, the difference is minimal depending on accent. I mean sure we say kin and kant but still, if you are talking fast, it can be hard to differentiate.

In most dialects of speech, the movement of your tongue to the 't' position or lack thereof in addition to the differences in intonation make it very obvious even when the actual 't' sound is technically inaudible. Song lyrics, as in your example, would be an exception to this clarity.

I've noticed that people who swallow the t usually also swallow the a in can.

At least in my dialect/accent, it's actually the vowel that's different. "Can" sounds like the man's name "Ken" (rather than the "can" your soda comes in) "Can't" sounds more like the "can" your soda comes in, but with subtle /t/ sound at the end.

So the difference is often not the “t” sound, but a prolonging of the “n” sound. Since t and n are very close in articulately position in the mouth. So “I can’t go this week” might sound like “I can-n go this week” or even “I ca-an go this week” with either the vowel or the n being prolonged. Whereas “I can go this week”, unless the emphasis is on “can”, would be more like “I c’n go this week”. Auxiliary verbs like “can” “would” “will” etc are frequently shortened or de-emphasized. Now of course this doesn’t hold up for all speakers and all dialects, but I think it can apply often enough to be useful.

As others have said, the “a” sounds is different in many accents so that even if the “t” is barely intelligible, it’s still possible to distinguish. That said, as a native speaker of British English, I do occasionally have issues with other accents “, eg some American accents in movies. For the most part though, the two are quite distinctive.

I would say they sound distinct to native speakers 99% of the time but not for the reasons you might think. To my ear, in natural speech at normal speed, the t in "can't" isn't really pronounced. But it's easy to differentiate "can" from "can't" purely based on intonation, emphasis, and the different vowel sounds used. I can do it = I kən **do** it. I can't do it = I **kaan** do it. Bold represents where the stress is. This is an approximation. Anyway, that's how it sounds to me. Since this is a language question, I'm sure someone will jump in saying this is 100% wrong but... What can I say? This is how it sounds me.

Context is helpful

I don't have this specific issue, and agree on intonation being different. I do have a similar issue at cafes when I'm asked "would you like that [food] heated?". I used to reply with a soft "no, thank you", but too often the "thank you" was all the receiver heard, and the food was heated. Now I use a "No" as if I'm a little offended, followed by a "thank you" 😄. In a similar way, I'd use a more challenging or negative tone for "I can't", "we can't" or "you can't", and a more positive tone for a positive "can".

I personally pronounce them very differently, but you’ll see them pronounced almost the exact same by many other people. I pronounce “can” with an “n” sound while with “can’t” I usually pronounce it without the “n” sound and with what’s known as a glottal stop/plosive (think British bo’ol uh wa’uh meme, those “t”s are pronounced as glottal stops) but I use the same vowel sound for both

I sometimes can't hear the difference between "can" and "can't" in US accents. The two words have completely different sounds in Australian English (the same as British English), so it's really easy to hear.

yes, or homophones like your/you’re, their/there/they’re, it’s/its, to/too/two, are/our, and so on… other most basic things in their native and perhaps even only language… and it’s whether not wheter, btw (:

I doubt many native speakers mistake it. In typical speech the t isn't dropped so you could clearly hear can vs can't. If the t is dropped the n is still abruptly cut where can the n is more relaxed. I imagine this is similar to intonations like uhu and u uh and hm and nn

I've noticed that I often can't actually *hear* the difference in the words themselves, but I can tell based on context, tone, emphasis, etc.

It's easier in my accent because the vowels are completely different, but I'm sure I would struggle sometimes if they had the same vowel sound.

As an Australian, I can sometimes find it difficult to tell the difference between the two when spoken by an American. In my dialect the two have different vowel sounds.

In my accent (north east US), a lot of us sound like we’re saying “I kin…” if “I can” is followed by something like “I kin drive him,” for example. In “can’t,” the t is definitely so soft it’s barely pronounced, but the vowel is a more obvious a sound.

Hi. In my voice, they're very different from each other. "Can", rhymes with ban, man, pan, tan... Whereas, "Can't", almost has an, "R", sound in the middle, for want of a better way to put it, "carnt", so rhymes with aunt. (England, South East).

Sometimes if the environment is loud or the person isn’t speaking clearly, but habitually? No. The difference is usually clear due to English reductions and phonetics. *Can* and all unemphasized (with an asterisk) modal and auxiliary verbs are reduced in all unscripted natural native speech. *Can* sounds more like “ken”, “k’n”, or even just like a hiccup or even less than that. It is extremely reduced in normal speech. On the other hand, the negative counterparts of modal and auxiliary verbs are always stressed and are never reduced. The T at the end is quite feeble though and can be heavily influenced by following sounds. It may sound like a CH, like “chair”: *can’t you* can become “canchu”. It may be turned into a glottal stop or geminate: *can’t tell* has a geminate T, *can’t think* has a glottal stop. It may be dropped. Yes, so it is pronounced exactly like “can” in its citation form. This happens before vowels due to the NT cluster: *can’t eat* becomes “caneat”. (We know it’s negative because “can eat” sounds something like “kneat” or even more reduced). There are lots of ways that final T may change in natural speech, but the most important thing is the stress.

Not usually, but it does happen a lot. If I'm not sure, I say "did you say 'can' or 'cannot'?"

The sound is subtle because it isn't being pronounced as a standard /t/ sound. It sometimes becomes a glottal stop /ʔ/ in some varieties of English.

I have a country enough accent that “can’t” gets a little extra flavor and sounds like cay-aint, whereas can is just can

Usually it's not hard to hear the difference. Occasionally it's ambiguous but usually there is other context that helps. But yes, sometimes it's difficult even for a native speaker.

No because it's enunciated differently depending on the situation. "Can" is pronounced like "kun" when talking fast. Eg. I can ride a motorbike, but I can't drive a car. It's like: "I kun ride a motorbike, but I *can't* drive a *car*. The "can't" is a stressed syllable and is pronounced more like "caaaarnt" or "KEANT" if you're American. The only time I can think of when "can" is stressed, it's in the context of something like "yes I can", which makes it easy to understand.

I never realised until you posted this, but in the south of the UK where I'm from, we pronounce these completely differently - 'can' (like a tin can) and 'carn't' (like car, with '...nt' on the end).

Where I live in England, the 'a' in 'can' and 'can't' is pronounced very differently, so it's not an issue 

I sometimes have to get clarification from who said it, but mostly it's easy to distinguish. It's common for the "t" to be dropped in favour of a "glottal stop", which will put a short pause after the word.

I'm Australian. The way we pronounce them makes it very easy to tell apart. I rely on context when Americans say "can" vs "can't", though.

UK speaker here. Everything other commenters have mentioned is valid. It’s worth noting that most people in both the UK and US will reduce the vowel in ‘can’ to [ə] ‘uh’ in normal speech, but that doesn’t apply to ‘can’t’, so they sound different even if the T is dropped. In the UK, we also pronounce ‘can’t’ with the [ɑː] of ‘father’, so the two are distinct even when ‘can’ is pronounced with a full [a].

This is an issue with American English, but if you listen carefully you'll find that "can" is actually pronounced with a schwa, but "can't" has the full A vowel sound. Don't worry about the final T, that doesn't really matter so much in speech, but the vowel is different!

I pronounce “can” like Ken and “can’t” like ant with a C, so that helps to differentiate them.

There's subtle differences in the pronunciation of the 'CAN' part

For what it's worth, Southern England uses different vowels for them. So I don't have an issue in everyday conversation most of the time. This does not apply to the vast, vast majority of the USA, as the other commenters have already told you.

Where I live they're pronounced "can" where the A sounds like the A in apple, and "carnt" so they're pretty distinctive

The reality is that a lot of the time we’re working it out by context, intonation, etc. And sometimes it does need a clarification.

I usually use the British accent when saying can't. "I cunt!"

As a native British English speaker, "can" and "can't" only sound alike when said by Americans.

This is how you end up with people saying “I could care less” instead of “I couldn’t care less”

With American/Canadian English, I imagine one could be misunderstood for the other. Australian/British English, probably not, as one is pronounced "can" and the other "carnt" (open R, not a hard R).

I remember someone asking about this before in relation to distinguishing these words in songs. Someone else said that, paradoxically, it's generally a rule that if it sounds like they're singing the word "can" then they're actually saying "can't" 😄 since they will draw out /emphasise the word can't much more than the word can. As others have mentioned, if the word they're using is "can" then it'll be much less emphasised and will sound more like "kin"/"ken". So if you think you hear "can" in a song it's probably safe to assume the word they're singing is actually "can't". English is fun eh!

The difference usually is not in whether or not the “t” is pronounced, but in the vowel sound. Unless “can” is being specifically stressed, usually that vowel is reduced enough that the word sounds like “kun” or even just “kn”. In “can’t”, that vowel is never reduced.

The vowel is longer in “can” than in “can’t” (and in some dialects, the vowels are actually different.) Although vowel length is not phonemic in English, it is an important clue we use subconsciously for understanding.

It’s hard sometimes in music, less so in normal conversation. Listen to U2’s song “With or Without You”. Is he saying “I can live” or “I can’t live”?

Sound almost identical in my accent. Is usually clear through context though it I can stress it more.

Seems to be an problem for American English accents. In many British English accents the pronunciation is very distinguishable and therefore not a problem at all.

It's pretty easy for me to tell because the ‘a’ is pronounced differently in both words (in my accent at least) Can - /kæn/ Can't - /kaːn(t)/

It'll depend on the accent. In my variant of British English (South-East/London), the vowel sounds are different. "Can" rhymes with "ban" and "ham" (or âne in French), it's a short a. "Can't" rhymes with "aren't" or "barn", or "mardi" in French, it's longer and lower. There are however accents where both vowels are the short a and some where both are the long a (or, at least, the difference between the two is much less pronounced). Then it's harder to tell them apart.  If I knew IPA I could explain better but I don't, sorry!

> For instance, in the song "Blind" by Korn, there's this part when the singer says "I can't see, I'm going blind", but in my first few listens (like the first 10) I thought he was saying 'I CAN see'. Chris Isaak made something similar and even worse with "don't" in his [Wicked Game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd-qI62gNJM) song. He is just dropping the entire "don't" off from there. So instead of >_And I don't wanna fall in love..._ >_No, I don't wanna fall in love..._ >_With you_ I always hear >_And I wanna fall in love..._ >_No|Know, I wanna fall in love..._ >_With you_ And there are still some traces of the related holy wars here and there on the Internet.

Yes, sometimes, especially in songs because normal syllable stress is altered

In the UK and Australia, “can” and “can’t” have different vowel sounds, so that “can” rhymes with “man” and “can’t” contains the vowel sound from the beginning of “father”. In US English, the word “can” usually has the vowel neutralised so that it’s pronounced more like [kn], whereas “can’t” has the full vowel sound. However, ironically, when trying to enunciate clearly, US speakers will pronounce both with the full vowel sound, and maybe pronounce the T properly, although that’s not guaranteed.

Not really, usually tonality and context sets up a distinction pretty well.

The vowel in can't is longer than the one in can, at least in my cariety of English.

Why don't just pronounce T in "can't" clearly?

In American English there would be a slight abrupt pause to indicate the T versus “can” where the N follows through to combine with the next word. For example: I can’t go = I can(pause)go I can go - I canngo (where the N and G almost merge together to make cango seem like one word)

In American English it can be a bit harder to hear the difference. For English people though, the difference is generally much clearer - in many accents at least. In a neutral accent from England, can is pronounced can, and can’t is pronounced cah (to rhyme with car).

Not normally, but sometimes i have to ask for clarification, and if it's important i will say "cannot." Telling the difference is honestly more about the inflection than the "t."

In the southern US, can’t is pronounced cain’t, thus they can’t be confused.

As a native speaker, once in a while. However, usually "can" gets swallowed up (vowel almost disappearing, word itself smaller) while "can't" doesn't. Almost "I c'n do that." So even without hearing the 't' there are ways to distinguish them.

I have issues with auditory processing and am surrounded by mumblers so this is a frequent issue, especially in a region that famously drops it's T's (even though English speakers everywhere do this)

Being Australian makes this super easy because they're pronounced two different ways. Can = is a shorter and higher a sound, like in land, stand, band. Can't = is a longer and lower a sound, and you would think there's an R after it like far, bar, star.

In most dialects of English, the current primary phonetic information distinguishing the two lies in the vowel: reduced in *can* and unreduced in *can't*. Unless the speaker is strongly emphasizing "can", if you hear the same unreduced vowel as in "candy", the speaker is probably saying "can't", even if you don't hear the "t" expressed at all. What the vowel in "can" actually gets reduced to varies a lot across dialects. In can be a true schwa, or more front like the vowel in "bin", or completely gone so that you get /kn/.

Yes, the difference can be difficult to hear sometimes. Especially song lyrics. There’s a lot of YouTube videos specifically about misheard song lyrics.

As an EFL Teacher, I sometimes struggle to understand students who pronounce "can" and "can't" in an American English accent/way. I make sure to enforce the British pronunciation because I am in British (so they naturally learn my dialect and accent) and because the difference is much easier to hear in my opinion.

Just wait until you find the cases where people have taken this on and not even realised it. So many Americans say ‘I could care less’ when what they mean is the precise opposite, since the actual phrase is ‘I couldn’t care less’. I assume it spread due to a few people mishearing it and repeating it, I’m always torn between being annoyed when people say it, or finding it hilarious! Nobody makes that mistake in England, and I can only assume it’s due to accents causing a similar problem to what you’re describing here!

For me the vowels are very different, so there’s no confusion. Can has the vowel /æ/, as in had, bad, cad. Can’t has the vowel /a/ as in hard, bard, card.

Smile when you say can and pitch up Frown when you say can't and pitch neutral or down

It's because there's a gutterol stop where the t is supposed to be

In American “can’t” always has an “a” vowel sound has a distinct glottal stop or (less commonly) a hard T. “Can” (to be able) often sounds more like “Kən” unless we are stressing the word for emphasis, in which case it’s even more clear. In (at least some) British accents “can” and “can’t” have completely different vowels where “can’t” is like “con(t)” (ish) I would say one rarely has trouble distinguishing the two

It can be unclear at times. I teach my students that there is another option, namely the [BrE pronunciation /kɑːnt/ ](https://www.google.com/search?q=define+can%27t&oq=define+can%27t&gs_lcrp=EgRlZGdlKgkIABBFGDkYgAQyCQgAEEUYORiABDIHCAEQABiABDIICAIQABgWGB4yCAgDEAAYFhgeMggIBBAAGBYYHjIICAUQABgWGB4yCAgGEAAYFhgeMggIBxAAGBYYHtIBCDMwNzlqMGoxqAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)which almost sounds like there is an "R" in the middle. In parts of the UK they might pronounce it the same as "can" but with a "t" at the end, but you frequently hear /kɑːnt/ so that's what I do. I give my students the choice of either pronunciation, but stress they need to be careful if they choose the "AmE" version. From a listening point of view you have to rely on the context and hope for the best!

Lmao I know that song There's so much *opaqueness* in the audio in general that you can't really hear the soft-spoken " 't " in can't, lol. Also, if you don't hear it, you can probably discern from context (I can't see -> I'm going blind).

Lmao I know that song There's so much *opaqueness* in the audio in general that you can't really hear the soft-spoken " 't " in can't, lol. Also, if you don't hear it, you can probably discern from context (I can't see -> I'm going blind).

Lmao I know that song There's so much *opaqueness* in the audio in general that you can't really hear the soft-spoken " 't " in can't, lol. Also, if you don't hear it, you can probably discern from context (I can't see -> I'm going blind).

Your example being a song is odd: tons of singers have horrible diction to the degree that native speakers have to look up the lyrics to understand a verse. But yes even in conversation we sometimes have to ask for clarification

Depending on dialect I’ve heard some people replace the T with a glottal stop, (like a “Bo’ole o’ wa’er” as we make fun of the British for), which can sometimes be hard to pick out. Based on context you can sometimes tell (like your example with the song, if he’s “going blind” he probably said he can’t see). Of course that doesn’t stop me from having asked people if they said can or can’t many times for clarity

Usually pronounces Cän Caant

Can’ and ‘can’t’ are normally distinguished by stress. 'Can' is usually unstressed and has a schwa vowel sound, while 'can’t' is stressed and has a clear vowel sound. When 'can' is emphasized (and thus stressed), it can be difficult to distinguish 'can' from 'can’t,' even for natives [https://youtu.be/C3ZWmX\_fMy8?si=lbbRkGRe2lljwumR](https://youtu.be/C3ZWmX_fMy8?si=lbbRkGRe2lljwumR)

Honestly I think most native speakers would have trouble hearing the difference without all the context and inflection that normally come with those words. There are so few instances where it's not very obvious.

I don't have trouble distinguishing "can" and "can't", but accents impact how differently they sound. For example, I pronounce "can" as "ken", and "can't" as "cahnt". It's easier to distinguish the two in my accent.

This video: [https://youtu.be/0x3WMIvXwYo?si=yqclOo6oEXcfpqh6](https://youtu.be/0x3WMIvXwYo?si=yqclOo6oEXcfpqh6)

Here's a fascinating video on the topic: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlbGtEg68x4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlbGtEg68x4)

To me, “can” has a longer vowel sound while “can’t” sounds shorter. Also, I occasionally say “can’t” as “cain’t,” which helps distinguish it from “can” even more.

Context and emphasis really goes a long way. A lot of the time the vowel in "can" is going to be unstressed and maybe a schwa. Whereas in the same context if the speaker was saying "can't" the vowel would be different. Unless "can" is unexpected for some reason in which case it would be more emphasized than "can't" would have been. The way the "t" sounds is probably also easier for us to pick up as native speakers. It would be interesting to hear from someone who knows what they are talking about, because I'm just saying this from personal experience as a native English speaker.

No because they aren't pronounced the same. Can't is not pronounced "can with a t on the end".

Depends on who I’m listening to, but I’m also partially deaf, so

The lyrics ARE 'I can see, I can see, I am going blind', I, a native speaker, have always heard it as 'I can see' and I just checked the lyrics.

In British English, they’re pronounced differently for this exact reason. Can and Carnt

Depends on the dialect, in the one I speak, there’s no difference in pronunciation between the two

The vowel is different in my accent, I’ve never had a problem with it

Oh for sure. It’s exacerbated by the fact that many people don’t clearly articulate ending consonants. Then there’s vowel shifts that are regional where “can” replaces the “a” with an unstressed “uh” or omits the vowel sound all together. “You can go with me” becomes “youk’n go with me” The same shift gets applied to “can’t” inconsistently.

Sometimes, but not usually. It's definitely one of the more common mix-ups.

Not if you're British.

It's pretty annoying tbh. If someone doesn't speak clearly, they can sound the same.

Let me just chime in as someone who speaks this dialect. Pay attention to context and the sounds that come after it. In my dialect it’s “can” and “can’”that apostrophe is close to the Hawaiian Okina in that it’s basically a glottal stop. If you hear a stop it’s “can’t”. Context is also an indicator, “does it make sense for it to be can/can’t here” should be the question.

Sometimes. But usually the word “can’t” carries a slight stress in fluent conversational speech while the word “can” is completely unstressed. That alone is usually enough to distinguish them. The difference in stress also means that “can’t” is spoken with a clear /æ/ sound while “can” ends up with a lax vowel somewhere near a schwa. (The verb “can” meaning to put things into cans, also has an /æ/.)

As a native speaker, this is one of my many complaints about the English language. It’s especially annoying when people who don’t bother to reread and edit their texts sends you an ambiguous message.

Intonation. “I can SWIM” or “I CAN’T swim”

A lot of accents dont have the t pronounced much at all, at least the way you would expect but instead use a glottal stop. Search for some videos on the glottal stop T and hopefully they can illustrate the difference for you.

This problem is mainly with the American accent. I'm an Australian living in NY, and Im constantly asking people to clarify what they meant.  Side note, whenever people make of my accent, I always respond with I can('t) hear you, making sure to emphasize that the local accent can also be quite difficult, and as different or strange my accent is, each word still sounds different and is clearly understood

This post made me realize I don't pronounce the "n" in can't

I know that song well. I thought he was saying "I can see" too. Haha. Sometimes, music can be more distorted than proper speech.

The “a” is said differently in some accents of British English. Can is said like the ‘a’ in ‘apple’; Can’t is said like ‘aah’, and there is an emphasis on it, whereas the emphasis is not there in the word ‘can’. It’s not confusing at all in this accent.

[Southern English] I find that because in my accent they're very different, I can struggle to differentiate them when Americans say them, especially in songs. So not just you lol

Intonation and context make it so that even if it's mispronounced, which I think is very common, the listener will usually understand regardless.

Lots of great points about intonation here! I wanted to add that, for me, "can't" has a bit of a lift at the end - similar to the glottal stop in "button" or "uh oh." You don't necessarily hear the "t," but you hear that little bit of a catch in the sound. Hope that makes sense.

Songs are not the best place to try and learn proper pronunciation. That said, like 99% of the time, native speakers can tell them apart. It's usually only a problem if someone is both mumbling and talking quickly.

sometimes, but then if you can’t understand you simply ask “can? or canT?” making sure to emphasize the T in can’t

I live in the Pacific Northwest of the US, where dropping the End T sound in words is very common. Even then the end of the word sounds very different. "Can't" has a glottal stop. I'm not sure I can describe exactly what that means, but the sound stops abruptly because of something you do in your voice box rather than just gently coming to an end.

I’ll mishear can as can’t but not the other way around

For this particular song, I see the lyrics interpreted by various sources as both "i can" and "I can't" so clearly there is ambiguity but more often it's "I can". Looking at the context of the song, I would be inclined to interpret this as "i can see \[that} I'm going blind." It's more about metaphorical blindness, not literal blindness, with the singer seeing the darkness approaching in his mind. That said, as a native American English speaker, I would sometimes have to ask the speaker whether they were saying "i can" or "I can't".

Yar, and maybe it's an age thing, but I find myself holding up a hand in a 'stop' gesture, and asking, "did you say can or canNOT ?" Always ask. Saves you a world of trouble.

Song lyrics are very often misheard by native speakers in certain songs. Singers will pronounce words in a slightly different way to keep the flow for lack of a better way to describe it (someone who can explain music better, please do :) )

In my part of the world, the 'a' in 'can' and the 'a' in 'can't' are distinctly different vowels. Which is a good thing, because with especially thick accents, the 't' completely disappears.

Yes they can sound pretty similar, and there are sometimes misunderstandings, although I'd say it's usually clear from the context what the person means.

There’s a missing bit of information in all these answers: in British English, the two words are almost never mixed up because the vowel sound is different. Can rhymes with fan, can’t has the same vowel as park

Usually not in person, but on the phone they can sound similar.

Usually we can tell, but it's definitely something that need to be clarified more often than others. Other n't words (is & isn't) too, but not all. Do & don't, will & won't, etc. sound different enough.

In Australia we pronounce the a in can’t as a long vowel so the two words sound very different. can vs cARnt.

Sometimes it can be hard to tell especially in song lyrics, but in normal conversation there are some tells if you didn’t hear them. Outside of using context clues, the word “can” is usually shorter and a lower pitch than “can’t” would be in the same sentence. For example, in “I can do that” I would say “I-can-do” in quick succession like a single word, whereas “I can’t do that” would have me putting more space between each word, as well as some extra emphasis on “can’t.” I’m not a linguist so sorry if I’m using all the wrong words or if this is just my personal experience, but just something I’ve noticed.

Native speakers do not have trouble with this, but I know what you mean. The end of "can't" still sounds different. I "can't" really explain why, though.

Yes. Especially if they’re talking fast or running their words together

Some people don't pronounce the "t" in "can't". In those instances, you can usually tell the difference by noting that in "can" the "n" sound is fully pronounced while in "can't" the "n" sound is abruptly cut off. (For the record, I always thought that lyric was "I can see I'm going blind" as well, I assumed it was a pun)

I am a native English speaker and still struggle with this at times. I figure it out by replacing the word with cannot. If it doesn’t work, then I know they used can.

Can and can't use different vowel length and the t is not glottalised in most, if not all, places side of North America.

Sometimes the t in can't gets cut off, usually when it's followed by another word that stops with a consonant, so like "I can't stop" could sound like "i can see" if the speaker is talking a bit faster or just isnt annunciating

It depends on how you pronounce it. Where I'm from in England the vowels of these two words are different, so even if the T is barely pronounced it's obvious what they're saying

When a “t” appears at the end of a word, it is usually pronounced with a glottal stop rather than as usual. As others have pointed out, in this context it could lead to confusion - glottal stops are harder to hear. It does also happens in the middle of some words and is more common/pronounced in certain dialects like Cockney and I’m guessing Australian ones.

It’s common to get them mixed up. It’s common to hear people say “you can or cannot?”, emphasizing the “cannot” as “can’t” is basically the shortened lazy version of cannot

Isn't the A pronounced different in can and can't?

No because “can” is almost always reduced and “can’t” is never reduced

In some (southern) dialects by certain people, the tongue striking the back of the teeth for the t sound gets dropped. However, the stop between the n and t will usually remain. With that said, yes, it can be misheard, but usually does not. I make it a point not to use the word "can't" in auditory communication unless it's in person and face to face due to its confusion.

In songs yea it can be a problem. In conversation, you can use the tone of voice if you can’t hear the T. If it’s apologetic it’s probably can’t. If it’s reassuring it’s probably can. If it’s a singsongy warning then it’s can with an implication that you’ve got to do something for them later. But sometimes you’ve got to ask “can or can’t?” If you’re talking to someone like me who kind-of lacks tone.

When the speaker isn’t enunciating well enough.

I think it comes down to the person, age or how acute their sense of hearing is, as well as what their primary language is. Their primary language will affect how well their brain is trained to listen for the subtle T sound at the end of the word. I know foreigners who have been in the US for 5 years that have perfect English and that person’s siblings have been in the US for 8 years and has broken English. Might not be the most helpful answer but I think it just depends on the person. I find I clarify the difference between numbers the most. Numbers usually require accuracy and things like 15 sound very similar to 50.

The vowel is different enough that it's usually clear.

as a native speaker I have to ask "you can or cant?" all the time and have always wondered how difficult that must be for english learners

As a native speaker, i usually pronounce 'can' with a schwa, unless I'm emphasizing the word, and 'can't' as 'can', with an 'a' as in apple. I think I only put the 't' before a vowel naturally? (like the phrase "I can't understand", I pronounce the 't'). Whenever I try to speak clearly, I try to pronounce all the letters though. In songs, it's very hard to tell apart, and I've had that problem before.

I don’t think I’ve ever had that problem but when trying to learn other languages it is definitely hard to understand connected speech since native speakers speak at a rate that feels pretty fast to someone who is just learning. Also in music, it is pretty easy to mishear words because people don’t enunciate the same way they do in normal speech.

Hmm. Thinking about it a little harder. We don’t struggle much around here… but there’s a tinge of twang in “can’t” that isn’t present in “can”. Almost like ain’t. I can do this. I “caint” do that. It’s very slight.

Yes, it happens. Usually the tone of voice tells you the meaning. "I can..." will usually be in a lighter tone of voice because it's probably good news to the listener. "I can't..." will usually be in a lower tone of voice because it's probably bad news. But it's common for there to be confusion and so we ask the speaker to repeat themselves.

Just FYI I think  the lyrics to that song are I can see, I can see im going blind. In English sometimes when someone says “I can see” it means more I can understand, or I’m aware. So the lyric isn’t exactly contradictory in that he can see (is aware) he’s going blind. But it is a play on words. And yes, many times I have to ask people if they said can or can’t. The best way to ask is: did you say can or cannot? That way there’s little room for error. 

Sometimes, yes, it is necessary to ask someone to clarify which word they said.