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精霊 (しょうりょう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

精しょう霊りょう

しょ

う

りょ

う

Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

1

noun

spirit of the deceased

Buddhism

Buddhist term for the soul or spirit of a dead person, especially during memorial services and Obon.

お盆ぼんには、先せん祖ぞの精しょう霊りょうが戻もどってくると信しんじられている。
During Obon, it is believed that the spirits of ancestors return.
精しょう霊りょう流なが

Written forms

精しょう霊りょう
Standard kanji spelling for the Buddhist sense of a spirit of the deceased.
聖しょう霊りょう
Alternate kanji spelling; less common and may be confused with 聖霊 (せいれい, the Holy Spirit).

Kanji

精refined, ghost, fairy
霊spirits, soul
聖

し

は

、

精しょう

霊りょう

を

送おく

る

ため

の

行ぎょう

事じ

だ

。

Shouryou nagashi is a ceremony to send off the spirits of the deceased.

holy, saint, sage

Similar words

霊れい
A broader term for spirit, soul, or ghost, not limited to the deceased or Buddhist context.
亡ぼう霊れい
Refers specifically to a ghost or apparition of a dead person, often with a haunting connotation.

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 精靈 (tsjeng leng), meaning 'spirit' or 'soul'. The kanji 精 (refined, spirit) and 霊 (spirit, soul) combine to convey the idea of a refined or pure spirit.