It belongs to a phonetic family with 幹, 岸, 刊, and 肝 — they share the 干 component and the reading カン.
A common word using 干 is 干す (ほす), meaning “to air, to dry, to drink up”.
Don't confuse it with 千 — 千 (thousand) starts with a slanted stroke; 干 (dry) starts flat