zen

English Online Dictionary. What means zen‎? What does zen mean?

Translingual

Symbol

zen

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Zenaga.

English

Alternative forms

• Zen

Etymology

From Zen. In more general use, popularized by Eugen Herrigel's 1948 Zen in the Art of Archery and Robert M. Pirsig's 1974 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɛn

Noun

zen (uncountable)

1. (religion) Synonym of enlightenment, particularly the kind acquired through Zen meditation.
2. An approach to instruction, understanding, or an activity similarly emphasizing simplicity and intuition rather than conventional thinking or fixation on goals.

Synonyms

• (a simple & intuitive method reflecting supposed Eastern wisdom): tao

Adjective

zen (comparative more zen, superlative most zen)

1. (religion) Alternative letter-case form of Zen: of or related to Zen Buddhism, particularly its focus on indirect teaching of wisdom through riddles and stories.
   • 2006 Oct. 1, Dennis Lehane, "Refugees", The Wire, 00:37:10:

     Greggs: You hung over? Just sayin', you look like shit.
     Moreland: You know what you need at a crime scene?
     Greggs: Rubber glove?
     Moreland: Soft eyes.
     Greggs: Like I'm s'posed to cry an' shit?
     Moreland: You got soft eyes, you can see the whole thing. You got hard eyes? You starin' at the same tree, missin' the forest.
     Greggs: Ah. Zen shit.
     Moreland: Soft eyes, grasshopper.

2. (colloquial) Wise, displaying enlightenment or similar wisdom, insightful, unburdened and free of worries, extremely relaxed and capable.

Usage notes

In general application, zen can carry orientalizing overtones, particularly of smug superiority over conventional western thought. It is therefore also applied sarcastically to disparage shallow understanding, feigned wisdom, or bullshitting.

References

• “zen”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Enz, NZE

Antillean Creole

Noun

zen

1. fishhook

Aynu

Etymology

Related to Persian زن‎ (zan).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zɛn/

Noun

zen

1. woman

References

• Otto Ladstätter, Andreas Tietze, Die Abdal (Äynu) in Xinjiang (1994)

Basque

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -en
• Hyphenation: zen

Verb

zen (masculine allocutive zuan, feminine allocutive zunan)

1. Third-person singular (hura) past indicative form of izan.

Finnish

Etymology

From Japanese 禅(ぜん) (zen).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈzen/, [ˈze̞n]
• IPA^(key): /ˈtsen/, [ˈts̠e̞n]
• Rhymes: -en
• Syllabification^(key): zen

Noun

zen

1. zen

Declension

Further reading

• "zen" in Kielitoimiston sanakirja (Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish).

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zɛn/
• Rhymes: -ɛn

Noun

zen m (plural zen)

1. zen

Adjective

zen (invariable)

1. (relational) zen
2. (colloquial) extremely relaxed and collected

Further reading

• “zen”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• nez

Haitian Creole

Noun

zen

1. fishhook

Indonesian

Etymology

From Japanese 禅 (ぜん, zen), from Middle Chinese 禪 (MC dzyen) (compare Mandarin 禅 (chán), an abbreviation of 禪那 (MC dzyen na), from Sanskrit ध्यान (dhyāna, “a type of meditation”). Akin to dhyana.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zɛn/
• Hyphenation: zèn

Noun

zen

1. (religion) A denomination of Buddhism.

Further reading

• “zen” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Japanese

Romanization

zen

1. Rōmaji transcription of ぜん

Mandarin

Romanization

zen

1. Nonstandard spelling of zēn.
2. Nonstandard spelling of zěn.
3. Nonstandard spelling of zèn.

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Middle English

Noun

zen

1. (Kent) Alternative form of synne

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 禅, from Middle Chinese 禪 (MC dzyen).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zɛn/
• Rhymes: -ɛn
• Syllabification: zen

Noun

zen m inan or zen n (indeclinable)

1. zen (denomination of Buddhism)

Declension

Masculine inanimate:

This word is indeclinable when used as a neuter noun.

Further reading

• zen in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• zen in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

Noun

zen m (uncountable)

1. Zen
   1. (religion) denomination of Buddhism
   2. (informal) philosophy

Adjective

zen (invariable)

1. zen
   1. (religion) pertaining to the Zen denomination of Buddhism
   2. (informal) extremely relaxing
2. (informal, of a person) calm, peaceful, not easily angered

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /ˈθen/ [ˈθẽn]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /ˈsen/ [ˈsẽn]
• Rhymes: -en
• Syllabification: zen

Adjective

zen (invariable)

1. zen

Noun

zen m (uncountable)

1. zen

Further reading

• “zen”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from German Zinder, French cendre and English cinder.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡sen/

Noun

zen (nominative plural zens)

1. ash, cinder
   • 1952, Epistle to the Hebrews, 9.13,14, translated by Arie de Jong.

Declension