shen

S1H4E1N1
/ˈʃɛn/

noun

A deity or a spirit, in Chinese folk religion.

Less commonScrabble 7

Meanings

shen1

nounshen (plural shens or shen)

plural shens

shen2

nounshen (plural shens or shen)

plural shens

  1. human sciencesIn Chinese mythology, a shapeshifting dragon or shellfish-type sea monster believed to create mirages.

Shen3

proper nounShen (plural Shens)

plural Shens

  1. historicalA former prefecture of imperial China now within Hengshui, Hebei.

Origin

shen · noun

  1. Chinese神
  2. Englishshen

Borrowed from Chinese 神 (shén).

Full word history & related roots →

shen · noun

  1. Chinese蜃
  2. Englishshen

Borrowed from Chinese 蜃 (shèn).

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Shen · proper noun

  1. Chinese深
  2. GermanSchoen
  3. DutchSchoen
  4. EnglishShen

* As a Chinese surname of multiple origins: ** Mandarin form of 沈 ** Mandarin form of 申 (shēn) ** Mandarin form of 慎 (shèn) ** Mandarin form of 莘 (see Xin) ** Variant Romanization of 孫 /孙, see Sun. ** Variant Romanization of 陳 /陈 (chén), also another Mandarin form of 諶 /谌, see Chen. * As a European surname of multiple origins: ** Variant form of Dutch Schoen, from schoen (“shoe”) ** Variant form of German Schoen, from schön (“beautiful, nice”) * As a river and former Chinese prefecture, from the Wade–Giles and Hanyu Pinyin romanizations of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 深 (Shēn).

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Translations

Chinese Mandarin 深河, 深州
  • 深河 (Shēnhé)River in Hubei, China
  • 深州 (Shēnzhōu)Former prefecture of imperial China

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with shen

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Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

shen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shen

MLA

“shen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shen. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shen,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shen.

Source: shen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.