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Definition 2024


妖怪

妖怪

Chinese

 
goblin; witch; devil; bewitching; enchanting; monster; phantom
queer; to blame
simp. and trad.
(妖怪)

Noun

妖怪

  1. any supernatural being, monster, devil, goblin

See also

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (妖怪):

Japanese

Kanji in this term
よう
Grade: S
かい
Grade: S
on'yomi

Etymology

From Middle Chinese compound 妖怪 (ʔjew kwɛjH, literally strange, supernatural + extraordinary). Compare modern Mandarin reading yāoguài.

Pronunciation

Adjective

妖怪 (-na inflection, hiragana ようかい, romaji yōkai, historical hiragana えうくわい)

  1. (dated) creepy, spooky, ghastly, perilous
    妖怪 (ようかい)雰囲気 (ふんいき)
    yōkai na fun'iki
    a creepy atmosphere / a spooky mood

Inflection

Noun

妖怪 (hiragana ようかい, romaji yōkai, historical hiragana えうくわい)

  1. supernatural being, monster, apparition, goblin

Usage notes

Note that the Japanese concept of the yōkai does not map directly to any specific English term.

Synonyms

Derived terms

  • 妖怪変化 (ようかいへんげ) (yōkai henge)

References

  1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
  2. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3

Korean

Hanja in this term

Noun

妖怪 (yogoe) (hangeul 요괴)

  1. Hanja form? of 요괴, “monster, goblin”.