禪

简 禅 · 繁 禪
Mandarin · pinyin chán#

Meanings · chán

  1. dhyana (Sanskrit)
  2. Zen
  3. meditation (Buddhism)
Mandarin · pinyin shàn#

Meanings · shàn

  1. to abdicate
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Characters in this entry

禪
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禅
chán · meditation, contemplation
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2 · chan2

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1character link44same-tone records
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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

禪 · find source passages ↗ · 禅 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sim4 · sin4 · sin6

Cantonese word readings for 禪. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character

  1. (Buddhism) dhyana; deep meditation; contemplation
  2. Buddhist doctrine; Buddhist teachings
  3. relating to Buddhism; Buddhist; thoughtful; philosophical

character

  1. (obsolete) to offer sacrifices to nature
  2. to abdicate and pass the throne to someone
  3. to succeed; to replace

character

  1. name of an ancient state

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack