禅 meaning and stroke order
Meditation, contemplation
How to write 禅, stroke by stroke
12 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 禅
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- dhyana (Sanskrit)
- Zen
- meditation (Buddhism)
- to abdicate
How 禅 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. To pray 礻 alone 单; 单 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 礻 (spirit), shared by 43 characters on this site.
How to remember 禅
禅 combines the spirit radical 礻 with 单 (dān, single, alone). Picture someone praying 礻 alone 单 in quiet meditation, and 单 also hints at the sound chán.
禅 (chán) mostly appears in Buddhist contexts, such as 禅宗 (Chánzōng, Zen Buddhism) or 坐禅 (zuòchán, to sit in meditation). The everyday word you will hear most is 口头禅 (kǒutóuchán), meaning a catchphrase someone always says. Example: 他的口头禅是"没问题"。(Tā de kǒutóuchán shì "méi wèntí".) His catchphrase is "no problem."
Common mistake: Learners often write the left side as 衤 (clothing, with an extra dot) instead of 礻 (spirit). Remember that 禅 is about prayer and the spirit, so it takes 礻 like 神 (shén) and 福 (fú).
Common words with 禅
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 禅杖 | chánzhàng | the staff of a Buddhist monk | HSK 7-9 |
| 口头禅 | kǒutóuchán | Zen saying repeated as cant; (fig.) catchphrase; mantra; favorite expression; stock phrase |
Questions about 禅
How many strokes are in 禅?
禅 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 禅 mean?
禅 (chán) means meditation, contemplation. A common word with it is 禅杖 (chánzhàng), meaning "the staff of a Buddhist monk".
How do you pronounce 禅?
禅 is pronounced chán, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 禅?
The radical of 禅 is 礻, which carries the idea of "spirit". Dictionaries list 禅 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 禅?
The traditional form of 禅 is 禪. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 禅 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 禅 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 禅 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
When is 禅 pronounced shàn instead of chán?
It is read shàn in the sense of abdicating a throne, as in the classical term 禅让 (shànràng, to abdicate in favor of another). This reading is mostly found in historical texts. In all Buddhist and everyday uses it is chán.
Is 禅 related to the English word Zen?
Yes. 禅 comes from the Sanskrit word dhyana, meaning meditation. The Japanese pronunciation of this character became the English word Zen.