noun
chan
chan
noun
1
A single discussion channel on IRC or a similar chat network.
"They created a new chan to discuss the game update."
2
An imageboard website, especially one modeled on 4chan-style anonymous posting.
"The meme first appeared on an obscure chan before spreading everywhere."
3
A school of Chinese Buddhism, known in Japan as Zen, that emphasizes sudden enlightenment reached through meditation rather than scripture study.
"The monastery still practices a form of Chan Buddhism dating back centuries."
How to Use Chan
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishDepending on context: an online chat channel, an anonymous imageboard, or the Chinese Buddhist tradition better known in the West by its Japanese name, Zen.
Word Forms
chans plural, chans plural, Chans plural, Chans plural
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They created a new _____ to discuss the game update.
Etymology
The internet sense is a clipping of "channel." The Buddhist sense comes from Chinese chán, itself borrowed from Sanskrit dhyāna ("meditation").