What does it mean to be zen? This article will define the meaning of zen, teach the history of zen, provide translations of the word zen, and more.
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Kevin
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May 11, 2022
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Do you know what it means to be zen? First, this article will teach you what the word zen means. Then, it will provide the history of the word zen and example sentences containing the word zen, translations of the word zen, and synonyms and antonyms.
Finally, this article might even help you find your zen!
What Does Zen Mean?
According to Dictionary, zen is both a noun and an adjective. As a proper noun, zen refers to a 6th-century Chinese practice and 12th-century Japanese practice of meditation, insights, and discipline. During the Tang Dynasty, the school of Mahayana Buddhism originated in China.
When lowercase, zen refers to a state of meditative calm. Zen is also an adjective that describes either qualities relating to a Zen Buddhist or the state of being relaxed and calm. The pronunciation of zen is zɛn.
How Can We Use Zen in a Sentence?
Common usage of zen often refers to a sense of meditative calm. Less commonly, people can use it to refer directly to the Buddhist practice of Zen. You can tell the difference between both uses of the word zen from their capitalization. If zen is lowercase, it is a common noun or adjective. If the word Zen is uppercase, it is a proper noun or adjective.
In the below example sentences containing the word zen, see if you can determine if the word zen is a common noun, a proper noun, or another part of speech. Then, see if you can develop your own example sentences for zen as both a common noun and a proper noun!
Example #1: A Zen Practice
The stressed and frazzled woman found relaxation, focus, and calm through her zen practice of archery. It was the only thing that would quiet her nerves.
Question: What part of speech is the word zen in the above sentence? If it is a noun, is it a proper noun or a common noun?
Answer: In the above sentence, zen is an adjective.
Example #2: The Whirlwind Trip
My zen philosophy of “whatever will be, will be” got me through my travels in New York, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. If I did not have this go with the flow perspective, IO would have had a breakdown when I lost my passport and was denied entry to the countries.
Question: What part of speech is the word zen in the above sentence? If it is a noun, is it a proper noun or a common noun?
Answer: In the above sentence, zen is a common noun.
Example #3: The Zen Master
Everything I know I learned from Buddha, the Zen master.
Question: What part of speech is the word zen in the above sentence? If it is a noun, is it a proper noun or a common noun?
Answer: In the above sentence, Zen is a proper noun.
Example #4: The Zen Monk
The Zen monk spent his days in solitude and silence.
Question: What part of speech is the word zen in the above sentence? If it is a noun, is it a proper noun or a common noun?
Answer: In the above sentence, Zen is an adjective.
What Is the Etymology of Zen?
The Japanese zen is a pronunciation of chán, a transliteration of a Middle Chinese word that is an abbreviation of chánnà. Chánnà comes from the Pali jhāna, Sanskrit dhyāna, and Sanskrit verb dhyāt. These all come from the Proto-Indo-European roots dheiə-, dhyeə-, and dhyā-.
What Are Translations of Zen?
Several languages contain translations of the word zen. For example, in American English and British English, we simply take the Japanese pronunciation of the word zen and use the word directly. Many languages worldwide do this, too, which you can see in this list of translations of zen from Nice Translator.
- Hebrew: זן
- Italian: zen
- Latvian: dzena
- Bulgarian: Дзен
- Serbian: зен
- Russian: дзен
- Urdu: زین
- Hungarian: zen
- Portuguese (Brazil): zen
- Arabic: زن
- Slovak: zan
- Basque: lub
- Catalan: zen
- Spanish: zen
- Kannada: zತ
- Swedish: zen
- Estonian: zen
- Gujarati: ઝેન
- Thai: เซน
- Amharic: ዚን
- Korean: 선
- Portuguese (Portugal): zen
- German: Zen
- Bengali: জেন
- Vietnamese: thiền học
- Hindi: जेन
- Telugu: జెన్
- Japanese: 禅
- Tamil: ஜென்
- Chinese (Taiwan): 禪
- Finnish: zen
- Greek: ζενός
- Marathi: झेन
- Welsh: zen
- Ukrainian: дзен
- Chinese (PRC): 禅
What Are Synonyms of Zen?
Power Thesaurus lists several synonyms for zen. Since zen can be a common noun, proper noun, or adjective, studying this list can prove useful if you need to clarify what you mean by zen.
- aloof
- apathetic
- as cool as a cucumber
- at ease
- calm
- carefree
- casual
- collected
- composed
- confident
- controlled
- cool
- cool-headed
- detached
- dispassionate
- easy
- easygoing
- equable
- even-tempered
- impassive
- imperturbable
- indifferent
- insouciant
- laid-back
- level-headed
- mild
- moderate
- nonchalant
- pacific
- peaceful
- phlegmatic
- placid
- poised
- quiet
- rational
- relaxed
- remote
- secure
- sedate
- self-controlled
- self-possessed
- serene
- smooth
- sober
- steady
- still
- stolid
- together
- tranquil
- unagitated
- unbothered
- unconcerned
- undisturbed
- unemotional
- unexcitable
- unfazed
- unfeeling
- unflappable
- unflustered
- unmoved
- unperturbed
- unruffled
- untroubled
- unworried
What Are Antonyms of Zen?
Power Thesaurus also provides several antonyms of the word zen.
- agitated
- angry
- anxious
- apprehensive
- beside oneself
- distressed
- disturbed
- edgy
- emotional
- excessive
- excitable
- excited
- fierce
- flustered
- frantic
- frenzied
- fretful
- furious
- harsh
- having kittens
- hot under the collar
- hysterical
- ill at ease
- in a flap
- in a state
- in a state of agitation
- in a tizzy
- jumpy
- keyed up
- mad
- nasty
- nervous
- on pins and needles
- on tenterhooks
- overwrought
- passionate
- restless
- rough
- ruffled
- stormy
- tempestuous
- tense
- troubled
- turbulent
- twitchy
- uncontrolled
- uneasy
- unquiet
- unreasonable
- unsettled
- upset
- uptight
- violent
- wild
- windy
- worked up
- worried
- wrought up
Conclusion
The definition of zen is a sense of calm or a Buddhist practice of meditative focus and calmness. Try using this word of the day today!
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