Chinese symbol for “zen”
禅
chán
Traditional: 禪
dhyana (Sanskrit); Zen; meditation (Buddhism)
The closest CC-CEDICT match for zen is 禅 (chán), defined as: dhyana (Sanskrit); Zen; meditation (Buddhism).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Related words
Other words that share a character with 禅.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 禅师 (禪師) | chán shī | honorific title for a Buddhist monk |
| 口头禅 (口頭禪) | kǒu tóu chán | Zen saying repeated as cant; (fig.) catchphrase; mantra; favorite expression; stock phrase |
| 禅修 (禪修) | chán xiū | to practice Zen (esp. meditation) |
| 封禅 (封禪) | fēng shàn | (of an emperor) to pay homage to Heaven at Mount Tai and to Earth at Mount Liangfu |
| 禅院 (禪院) | chán yuàn | Buddhist hall |
| 坐禅 (坐禪) | zuò chán | to sit in meditation; to meditate |
See also: Japanese symbol for “zen”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.