魄
soul, spirit
Readings
On'yomi
- ハク
- タク
Kun'yomi
- たましい
Meaning
魄 centers on the immaterial essence of a living being: the soul or spirit. It refers to the animating force that gives life and personality, distinct from the physical body.
Most common words using 魄
- 魂魄こんぱく
soul; spirit; ghost
- 月魄げっぱく
moonlight; lunar spirit
- 月魄つきしろ
Tsukishiro (1908 novel by Yūhō Kikuchi)
- 死魄しはく
waning moon
- 落魄らくはく
being reduced to poverty; living in poverty; coming down in the world; straitened (reduced) circumstances
- 落魄の身らくはくのみ
(being in) reduced circumstances; (having) fallen into poverty
- 魄はく
Yin energy; spirit
Study
Etymology
魄 combines 白 (white, bright) with 鬼 (spirit, ghost). The character likely expresses the bright or yang aspect of the soul, in contrast to 魂 which is associated with the darker, yin aspect. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the component choice reflects traditional Chinese dualistic soul concepts.
Meaning mnemonic
A white 白 ghost 鬼 represents the bright, ethereal soul that leaves the body. Picture a luminous white spirit rising from a ghostly form: that is the soul.
Reading mnemonic
For ハク, imagine a soul floating into a white 白 hackberry tree: hack -> ハク, and the white ghost-soul merges with the tree.