(qualifier:Zen Buddhism) A word shouted out in Zen Buddhism (as well as other sects of Buddhism), and in East Asian martial arts schools, used to help focus the energy (気 (ki)), and thereby induce an enlightened state.
Translations (2)
pl katsu (Zen Buddhist term) · ja 喝 (Zen Buddhist term)
From Japanese カツ (katsu, “cutlet”), shortening of カツレツ (katsuretsu), itself from English cutlet. Thus a doublet of English cut.
Meanings
(countable, uncountable) Panko breaded and deep-fried Japanese food
(UK, countable, uncountable) Japanese curry, which may or may not contain a panko breaded and deep-fried food.
Things like yakisoba and katsu curry are all examples of this western mixing, while omurice has both French and American influences. I’m 50 now and I remember growing up in the 1970s with my mother making me omurice. 2026 July 26, Ammar Kalia, “‘I panic. It turns to rubber’: could I learn to make omurice, the ‘world’s hardest omelette’?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN: