禅 — “Zen / Silent Meditation” in Japanese

Master (高手)ぜん, せん, しずか, ゆず

Radical ⽰ · radical 113 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Zen / Silent Meditation” in Japanese is 禅, read zen, sen, shizuka (ぜん, せん, しずか, ゆず). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 禅宗 (Zen sect).

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What does 禅 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	禅
Meaning	Zen / Silent Meditation
Readings	ぜん, せん, しずか, ゆず
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	禅宗 (Zen sect)

How to read 禅

禅 is read zen (ぜん) or sen (せん) or shizuka (しずか) or yuzu (ゆず) depending on the word.

Words with 禅

禅宗

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Kanji read the same way as 禅

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Updated: 2026-08-28