chán
noun #18,500

Meanings

  1. 1 Zen (Buddhism)
  2. 2 dhyana; meditation
  3. 3 contemplation

Examples

Tā měitiān dǎzuò cānchán.
He sits in meditation and practices Zen every day.
Chánzōng shì Zhōngguó Fójiào de zhòngyào liúpài.
Chan Buddhism is an important school of Chinese Buddhism.

Tips

history
is a transliteration of Sanskrit 'dhyana' (meditation). Chan Buddhism (禅宗) originated in China and later became Zen in Japan. Note: has a second reading shàn meaning 'to abdicate' ( shànràng), a completely different word.

Components

radical
shì
altar; spirit (radical form of 示)
Left-side altar radical, the four-stroke side form of — originally a drawing of a stone offering-stand where sacrifices were placed. Indexes in the ritual family alongside god, ancestor, blessing. Marks as belonging to sacred practice — Chan Buddhist meditation and the abdication ceremonies of antiquity.
phonetic
dān
single; alone (here phonetic)
Right side supplies the sound: dān shifted to chán via a d/ch alternation. The phonetic also picks up shàn in the abdication reading . The single, alone imagery of happens to suit the solitary discipline of Chan meditation, but the linkage is incidental — is here for its sound.

Stroke Order

chán