zen

See also: Appendix:Variations of "zen"

Languages (20)

Translingual • English

---

Ahtna • Antillean Creole • Äynu • Basque • Danish • Finnish • French • Haitian Creole • Indonesian • Japanese • Mandarin • Mauritian Creole • Middle English • Polish • Portuguese • Salar • Spanish • Volapük

---

Page categories

Translingual

Symbol

zen

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

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Zenaga terms

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈzɛn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• 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.

   Synonym: tao

   the zen of cooking

   the zen of passing the bar exam

   the zen of C++

Translations

enlightenment — see Zen

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.

Translations

of or related to Zen Buddhism — see Zen

References

• “zen”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Enz, NZE

Ahtna

Etymology 1

From Proto-Athabaskan *žəŋʸ and therefore cognate with Navajo -ZHĮ́Į́ʼ, Lower Tanana zren.

Root

zen

1. to be dark in color

Stem set

Aspect	Imperfective	Perfective	Future	Optative
Neuter	zen	ziinʼ	ziił	ziinʼ
Transitional	—	ziinʼ	—	—

Derived terms

• ceghaznae (“short-tailed weasel”)
• delzen (“it is dark in color”)
• giznae (“crowberry”)
• tsʼenlazeni (“snow goose”)
• zeni, znae (“dark”)

References

• Kari, James (1990), Ahtna Athabaskan Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, pages 455-456

Etymology 2

From Proto-Athabaskan *zən, and therefore cognate with Navajo -ZĮĮD.

Root

zen

1. to think, want, desire

Stem set

Aspect	Imperfective	Perfective	Future	Optative
Neuter	zen	ziinʼ	ziił	ziinʼ
Neuter negative	zene	ziinʼe	ziile	ziinʼe
Customary	ziix	ziix	ziix	ziix
Transitional	—	ziit	—	—
Transitional-negative	—	ziide	—	—
Transitional2	dziix	dziinʼ	dziix	dziix

Derived terms

• nizen (“he/she thinks”)
• niłkilzen (“they are friends”)
• tanizii (“sadly”)

References

• Kari, James (1990), Ahtna Athabaskan Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, pages 456-457

Etymology 3

Compare Navajo -ZĮʼ. Kari lists this root as (d)zen; all the stems are given as d-intial.

Root

zen

1. a singular subject stands

Stem set

Aspect	Imperfective	Perfective	Future	Optative
Neuter	dzen	dziinʼ	dziił	dziinʼ
Transitional	—	dziinʼ	—	—

Derived terms

• ngedzen, nadzen (“he/she stands”)

References

• Kari, James (1990), Ahtna Athabaskan Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, page 172

Antillean Creole

Noun

zen

1. fishhook

Äynu

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

 

• IPA^(key): /s̻en/ [s̻ẽn]

• IPA^(key): (most dialects) /s̻en/ [s̻ẽn]
• IPA^(key): (Biscayan) /s̺en/ [s̺ẽn]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -en
• Hyphenation: zen

Etymology 1

Verb

zen (masculine allocutive zuan, feminine allocutive zunan)

1. third-person singular, past indicative of izan (“to be”, intransitive auxiliary)

Etymology 2

Verb

zen

1. short form of zendu (“to pass away”)

Danish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈsɛn], [ˈdsɛn]

Noun

zen

1. zen

   Synonym: zenbuddhisme

   1. (figuratively) serenity, tranquillity, calm state of mind (in your everyday life)

Derived terms

• zenbuddhist
• zenbuddhistisk

References

• “zen” in Den Danske Ordbog

Finnish

Etymology

From Japanese 禅(ぜん) (zen).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

zen

1. zen

Declension

Inflection of zen (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative		zen	zenit
genitive		zenin	zenien
partitive		zeniä	zenejä
illative		zeniin	zeneihin
		singular	plural
nominative		zen	zenit
accusative	nom.	zen	zenit
	gen.	zenin
genitive		zenin	zenien
partitive		zeniä	zenejä
inessive		zenissä	zeneissä
elative		zenistä	zeneistä
illative		zeniin	zeneihin
adessive		zenillä	zeneillä
ablative		zeniltä	zeneiltä
allative		zenille	zeneille
essive		zeninä	zeneinä
translative		zeniksi	zeneiksi
abessive		zenittä	zeneittä
instructive		—	zenein
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of zen (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative zenini zenini accusative nom. zenini zenini gen. zenini genitive zenini zenieni partitive zeniäni zenejäni inessive zenissäni zeneissäni elative zenistäni zeneistäni illative zeniini zeneihini adessive zenilläni zeneilläni ablative zeniltäni zeneiltäni allative zenilleni zeneilleni essive zeninäni zeneinäni translative zenikseni zeneikseni abessive zenittäni zeneittäni instructive — — comitative — zeneineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative zenisi zenisi accusative nom. zenisi zenisi gen. zenisi genitive zenisi zeniesi partitive zeniäsi zenejäsi inessive zenissäsi zeneissäsi elative zenistäsi zeneistäsi illative zeniisi zeneihisi adessive zenilläsi zeneilläsi ablative zeniltäsi zeneiltäsi allative zenillesi zeneillesi essive zeninäsi zeneinäsi translative zeniksesi zeneiksesi abessive zenittäsi zeneittäsi instructive — — comitative — zeneinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative zenimme zenimme accusative nom. zenimme zenimme gen. zenimme genitive zenimme zeniemme partitive zeniämme zenejämme inessive zenissämme zeneissämme elative zenistämme zeneistämme illative zeniimme zeneihimme adessive zenillämme zeneillämme ablative zeniltämme zeneiltämme allative zenillemme zeneillemme essive zeninämme zeneinämme translative zeniksemme zeneiksemme abessive zenittämme zeneittämme instructive — — comitative — zeneinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative zeninne zeninne accusative nom. zeninne zeninne gen. zeninne genitive zeninne zenienne partitive zeniänne zenejänne inessive zenissänne zeneissänne elative zenistänne zeneistänne illative zeniinne zeneihinne adessive zenillänne zeneillänne ablative zeniltänne zeneiltänne allative zenillenne zeneillenne essive zeninänne zeneinänne translative zeniksenne zeneiksenne abessive zenittänne zeneittänne instructive — — comitative — zeneinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative zeninsä zeninsä accusative nom. zeninsä zeninsä gen. zeninsä genitive zeninsä zeniensä partitive zeniään zeniänsä zenejään zenejänsä inessive zenissään zenissänsä zeneissään zeneissänsä elative zenistään zenistänsä zeneistään zeneistänsä illative zeniinsä zeneihinsä adessive zenillään zenillänsä zeneillään zeneillänsä ablative zeniltään zeniltänsä zeneiltään zeneiltänsä allative zenilleen zenillensä zeneilleen zeneillensä essive zeninään zeninänsä zeneinään zeneinänsä translative zenikseen zeniksensä zeneikseen zeneiksensä abessive zenittään zenittänsä zeneittään zeneittänsä instructive — — comitative — zeneineen zeneinensä

Derived terms

compounds

• zenbuddhalainen
• zenbuddhismi

Further reading

• “zen”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 4 July 2023

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zɛn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛn

Noun

zen m (invariable)

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zɛ̃/

Noun

zen

1. fishhook

References

• Targète, Jean; Urciolo, Raphael (1993), Haitian Creole-English Dictionary‎^[2], Dunwoody Press, →ISBN, page 207

Indonesian

Etymology

From Japanese 禅 (ぜん, zen), from Middle Chinese 禪 (MC dzyen), from Sanskrit ध्यान (dhyāna, “a type of meditation”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈzen/ [ˈzen]
• Rhymes: -en
• Syllabification: zen

Proper noun

zén

1. (religion) a denomination of Buddhism

Further reading

• “zen”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of 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.

Mauritian Creole

Noun

zen

1. alternative spelling of zin; alternative form of zien (“June”)

References

• Baker, Philip; Hookoomsing, Vinesh Y. (1987), Diksiyoner kreol morisyeṅ [Mauritian Creole Dictionary] (in French and English), Paris: L'Harmattan, →ISBN, page 348

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): /ˈzɛn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛn
• Syllabification: zen

Noun

zen m inan or zen n (indeclinable)

1. zen (denomination of Buddhism)

Declension

Masculine inanimate:

Declension of zen

	singular	plural
nominative	zen	zeny
genitive	zenu	zenów
dative	zenowi	zenom
accusative	zen	zeny
instrumental	zenem	zenami
locative	zenie	zenach
vocative	zenie	zeny

This word is indeclinable when used as a neuter noun.

Further reading

• “zen”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[3] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “zen”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[4] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈzẽj̃/ [ˈzẽɪ̯̃]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈzɛn/

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -ẽj̃

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

Further reading

• “zen”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “zen”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Salar

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).

Pronunciation

• (Xunhua, Qinghai) IPA^(key): /zen/
• (Ili, Xinjiang) IPA^(key): /zæn/

Adjective

zen (comparative zenrek, superlative zençük)

1. cheap (price)

   Synonyms: aşaq, az

   Antonyms: güy, yarmaqlı

Derived terms

• zenleğüsi

References

• 林莲云 [Lin Lianyun] (1992), “zen”, in 撒拉汉汉撒拉词汇 [Salar-Chinese, Chinese-Salar Vocabulary], 成都 [Chéngdū]: 四川民族出版社, →ISBN, page 63
• Yakup, Abdurishid (2002), “zen”, in An Ili Salar Vocabulary: Introduction and a Provisional Salar-English Lexicon‎^[5], Tokyo: University of Tokyo, →ISBN, page 180
• 马伟 [Ma Wei] (2016), “zen”, in 濒危语言——撒拉语研究 [Endangered Languages ​​- Salar Language Studies], 青海 [Qīnghǎi, Qinghai]: 青海师范大学 [Qinghai Normal University], unpublished finalized project manuscript (国家社会科学基金项目结项稿, 定稿; National Social Science Fund of China), page 294

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈθen/ [ˈθẽn] (Equatorial Guinea, Spain)
• IPA^(key): /ˈsen/ [ˈsẽn] (Latin America, Philippines)
  • Syllabification: zen
• IPA^(key): /ˈtsen/ [ˈt̪sẽn]
• Rhymes: -en

Adjective

zen (invariable)

1. zen

Noun

zen m (uncountable)

1. zen

Further reading

• “zen”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from German Zinder, French cendre, and English cinder.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡sen/

Noun

zen (genitive zena, plural zens)

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

     If ya blud toras e hikaparas, e zen kunüla, kel pagifülon ad klinükön koapi, saludükon profenanis,
     vio mödikumo blud Kristusa, kel ededietom oki dub Lanal laidüpik nenmiotädiko Gode, oklinükon konsieni obsik de vobots deadik, ad kultön Godi liföl.

     If the blood of bulls and billies, and the ashes of heifers, which is sprinkled to clean the body, already sanctifies profane people,
     how much more will the blood of Christ, who gave himself unblemished to God because of the eternal Spirit, clean our conscience from dead deeds to worship the living God.

Declension

Declension of zen

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	zen	zens
Genitive	zena	zenas
Dative	zene	zenes
Accusative	zeni	zenis
Predicative1	zenu	zenus
Vocative	o zen	o zens

1. Introduced in Volapük Nulik.