When you say 'zen' are you speaking Japanese?

'Zen' is a word borrowed from Japanese 'zen'. The word entered the English language some time around 1727.

zen [noun] [1727]

A Japanese sect of Mahayana Buddhism that aims at enlightenment by direct intuition through meditation

See 'zen' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from Japanese.

Etymology: Japanese, religious meditation

See more loan words from 1700s.