Archaic Zen term derived from Song-era Chinese colloquialism. Used to refer to something in a demonstrative manner, akin to 'like this' or 'in this manner'.
In Zen dialogues, one may indicate 'this way' with the word 恁麼.
Archaic Zen term used interrogatively, meaning 'what kind of' or 'what sort of'. Rare and limited to historical Zen texts.
Records preserve a Zen monk's question, 'What sort of thing is it?' using 什麼.
Archaic Zen term; the most common kanji form in this context.
Variant kanji form, also archaic.
Variant kanji form using 麽 instead of 麼.
Variant kanji form using 什 and 麽.
Borrowed from Song-era Chinese colloquial language, used in Zen Buddhist contexts. The exact derivation is uncertain; the kanji are ateji for the Chinese demonstrative/interrogative expression.