Nihongo

Kanji Detail of 禅

Level:N1 Mid
Strokes:13
Stroke Order
Related Words
AI Explanation
Basic Meaning

The kanji primarily conveys the meaning of "Zen," a school of Mahayana Buddhism that emphasizes meditation and insight into the nature of reality. It represents a state of focused contemplation, spiritual practice, and the attainment of enlightenment through direct experience. It encapsulates a philosophy of simplicity, mindfulness, and the rejection of intellectualism in favor of intuitive understanding. This character also encompasses related concepts like tranquility, meditation, and the practices associated with Zen Buddhism.

Readings

・On-yomi (音読み): ゼン (zen) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): None, as the meaning is directly adopted from Chinese.

Usage Examples

⚫︎禅宗 Translation: Zen Buddhism ⚫︎座禅 Translation: Zazen (Zen meditation) ⚫︎禅寺 Translation: Zen temple

Correspondence with Your Native Language

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Origin and Formation

The kanji is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is the radical (しめす, shimesu), which signifies "altar" or "revelation," often relating to spiritual matters. The right side is (セン, sen), which acts as the phonetic component and provides the sound "zen." Therefore, the character suggests a spiritual practice (the radical) that is achieved through a specific approach (the phonetic component). The character was adopted into Japanese to represent the concept of Zen Buddhism, which originated in China and further developed in Japan.

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