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禅

Zen
Stroke count: 13

Readings

On readingゼン、セン
JLPT level: N1JōyōGrade 8Level 18

Meanings

  1. zenRtK
  2. silent meditation
  1. dhyana (profound meditation)
  2. zen (Buddhism)

Synonyms

禅宗

Homonyms

ⓘ
Same reading (ぜん)
前 · last (i.e. immediately preceding)善 · good全 · all膳 · small dining table (usu. for a single person)

Radicals and components

Radical示spirit礻variant
Components
How it's built
禅
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Mnemonic (RtK)

ⓘ

zen · altar (示) · simple · owl · rice field (田) · brains · ten (十) · needle (丨)

From "Remembering the Kanji" by James Heisig · Frame 2080

Compound words

座禅ざぜん
zazen (seated Zen meditation, usu. in a cross-legged position)
禅寺ぜんでら
Zen temple
禅宗ぜんしゅう
Zen (Buddhism)
禅僧ぜんそう
Zen priest
禅問答ぜんもんどう
Zen dialogue; Zen questions and answers
坐禅ざぜん
zazen (seated Zen meditation, usu. in a cross-legged position)
参禅さんぜん
Zen meditation
禅定ぜんじょう
dhyana-samadhi (meditative concentration)
友禅染ゆうぜんぞめ
type of dyeing method or pattern
友禅染めゆうぜんぞめ
type of dyeing method or pattern

Additional Examples

彼は座禅を組んだ。
He sat in Zen meditation.tatoeba
禅坊主じゃあるまいし、毎日毎日、一汁一菜のダイエットメニューは勘弁してよ。
What? A little soup and celery is all I get? I'm not a Zen monk. I can't survive on an austerity diet like this.tatoeba
禅は私たちの心を鍛練するといわれる。
They say Zen cultivates our mind.tatoeba
私は京都へ行くと必ず南禅寺を訪れる。
I never go to Kyoto without visiting the Nanzenji Temple.tatoeba

Stroke Order

13 strokes

Zen. 礻 (altar) + 単 (single) — focusing on one thing before an altar, meditation.

Practice Writing

Practice Writing 禅

Draw with a guide, then from memory — checked at every step