The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
KAIZEN
Definition of KAIZEN
noun
A Japanese business practice of continuous improvement in performance and productivity.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Japanese 改善 (kaizen かいぜん), from Middle Chinese 改善 (kój-dʒjén) (compare Mandarin gǎishàn 改善), from Old Chinese 改善 (*qˁəʔ-ɡenʔ "to correct errors"), from 改 ("to change") + 善 ("good"). Introduced to English in 1959 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente in his book Japanese Etiquette and Ethics in Business.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
33rd
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
0.2%
of traced words share this origin (149)
branch · 0.3% of traced words
How it is built
Its etymology also names Mandarin.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
KAIZEN in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 3 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 68, 27 July 2026. The most recent board was Day 160, 27 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 3 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 68, 27 July 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
KAIZEN starts with K and ends with N. Sorted, its letters read AEIKNZ - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram. It uses Z - among the least common letters in written English.
Words that start KAIZEN
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found KAIZEN?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 68 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER