妖怪

Chinese

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

Pronunciation


Noun

妖怪

  1. (usually in Chinese mythology) supernatural being; monster; devil; goblin

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (妖怪):

Japanese

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

Etymology

*/ɨeu kʷæi//jeukʷai//joːkai/

From Middle Chinese compound 妖怪 (MC ʔˠiᴇu kˠuɛiH, literally “strange, supernatural + extraordinary”).

Compare modern Mandarin 妖怪 (yāoguài).

Pronunciation

Adjective

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

  1. yokai: supernatural being, monster, apparition, goblin

Usage notes

  • 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, monstrous apparition)

References

  1. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja in this term

Noun

妖怪 (yogoe) (hangeul 요괴)

  1. Hanja form? of 요괴 (monster, goblin).

Vietnamese

Hán tự in this term

Noun

妖怪

  1. Hán tự form of yêu quái (monster).
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