禅 (chán) means dhyana (Sanskrit); Zen; meditation (Buddhism). Simplified form has 12 strokes under radical 礻.
Serene and artistic (e.g., 禅心, 思禅), though best suited for artistic, calm, or spiritual personas rather than corporate settings.
Widely admired in East Asian calligraphy for meditative stillness and detachment.
Origin & Visual Logic: Spirit/altar radical (礻) paired with 单: quiet single-minded contemplation (Chan / Zen).
| Traditional / Simplified | Pinyin | CC-CEDICT Definitions |
|---|---|---|
| 禪 / 禅 | chán | dhyana (Sanskrit); Zen; meditation (Buddhism) |
| 禪 / 禅 | shàn | to abdicate |
Lexical entries derived from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Make Me a Hanzi (APL / LGPL-3.0).
| Chinese Word | Pinyin | English Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 禅意 | chányì | Zen aesthetic mood | |
| 坐禅 | zuòchán | seated meditation | |
| 禅心 | chánxīn | calm meditative mind |
"禅" has 12 strokes in Simplified Chinese (Traditional form: 禪). Its primary dictionary radical is 礻, and you can animate or practice writing every stroke in order using the interactive grid on this page.
Rating: Good with Pairing (Unisex). Serene and artistic (e.g., 禅心, 思禅), though best suited for artistic, calm, or spiritual personas rather than corporate settings.
Tattoo rating: Safe & Classic. Widely admired in East Asian calligraphy for meditative stillness and detachment.
