zazen
/zɑːˈzɛn/
"zazen" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“zazen” is uncommon English (frequency #98,912 among 2,810 “Z” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #98,912
- frequency rank, English
- 2,810
- “Z” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A form of seated meditation in Zen Buddhism.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | zazen |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /zɑːˈzɛn/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #98,912 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “zazen” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
zazen is uncommon English at frequency #98,912 among 2,810 “Z” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /zɑːˈzɛn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A form of seated meditation in Zen Buddhism.".
Zero misspellings are on record for zazen in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Japanese 坐(ざ)禅(ぜん) (zazen), from 坐(ざ) (za, “sitting”) + 禅(ぜん) (zen, “meditation”). The correct English form is zazen, spelled Z-A-Z-E-N.
Definition
- 1A form of seated meditation in Zen Buddhism.
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 坐(ざ)禅(ぜん) (zazen), from 坐(ざ) (za, “sitting”) + 禅(ぜん) (zen, “meditation”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “zazen”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is Z-A-Z-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /zɑːˈzɛn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.