Chan
name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 An IRC channel. Internet, informal
"I tried, but I never get anyone in the chan! I don't know how/where to advertise... maybe we should set up a meeting time or something?"
- 2 An imageboard. Internet, informal
"more niche chans"
- 3 A major Chinese school of Mahayana Buddhism characterized by sudden enlightenment achieved by indirect means, developed in Japan as Zen. uncountable
"It is possible that highly calligraphic painting styles, including the extreme forms of “flung-ink,” began at this time, but probably not under Ch’an Buddhist influence, which figured in the religious life of the dynasty."
- 1 A Chinese surname from Cantonese.
- 2 A Chinese surname from Hokkien.
- 3 A surname from Chinese.
- 4 A surname from Khmer.
- 5 Alternative form of Chanambam surname of Meitei origin alt-of, alternative
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Alternative form of Chandam surname of Meitei origin alt-of, alternative
Example
More examples"Don't you think that most people on 2chan are idiots?"
Etymology
Clipping of channel.
From 4chan, a popular imageboard; ultimately from channel.
From Cantonese 陳／陈 (can⁴).
From Hokkien 曾 (Chan).
From Mandarin 詹 (Zhān).
Borrowed from the pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 禪 /禅 (Chán), a development and clipping of Middle Chinese 禪那 (MC dzyen na), a transcription of Sanskrit ध्यान (dhyāna, literally “meditation”). Doublet of dhyana and Zen.
From Khmer ចន្ទ (can).
From Manipuri ꯆꯥꯟ (cān).
Related phrases
More for "chan"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.