Translation guide
Describes something without a physical body or material form, often used in philosophical, legal, or supernatural contexts.
Describing spirits, ghosts, or beings that lack a physical form.
Literally 'formless' or 'shapeless'. Commonly used for spirits or abstract concepts that have no physical shape.
幽霊は無形の存在だ。
Ghosts are incorporeal beings.
Means 'immaterial' or 'non-physical'. Used in both spiritual and philosophical contexts.
魂は非物質的なものと考えられている。
The soul is considered to be incorporeal.
Phrase meaning 'without substance'. Often used to describe intangible or incorporeal things.
その声は実体のないもののように聞こえた。
The voice sounded incorporeal.
Referring to ideas, rights, or assets that have no physical form.
Used in legal or formal contexts for 'incorporeal' property or rights (e.g., intellectual property).
著作権は無体財産権の一種です。
Copyright is a type of incorporeal property right.
Also used for intangible assets or cultural properties, like 'intangible cultural heritage'.
A more technical term meaning 'insubstantial' or 'incorporeal', used in philosophy or academic writing.
非実体的な概念を理解するのは難しい。
It's difficult to understand incorporeal concepts.
Describing something that seems ghostly, ethereal, or not fully solid.
Common phrase meaning 'lacks substance' or 'is incorporeal'. Used for things that feel unreal or ghostly.
彼の姿は実体がなく、透けて見えた。
His figure was incorporeal and looked transparent.
Means 'thin', 'sparse', or 'rarefied'. Can describe an incorporeal or faint presence.
空気のように希薄な存在感。
An incorporeal presence, like air.
無形 (むけい) is the most general term for 'formless' or 'incorporeal', used for spirits, abstract concepts, and intangible assets. 無体 (むたい) is specifically used in legal contexts for incorporeal property rights. In everyday speech, 実体がない is more natural for describing something ghostly.
Directly translating 'incorporeal' as 非肉体的 (ひにくたいてき, 'non-carnal') is unnatural and not used. Stick to the options above depending on context.
It was registered as an intangible (incorporeal) cultural property.