Usage patterns 〈 場ば 所しょ 〉 に 妖よう 怪かい が 出で る a yōkai appears in a place
It's said that yōkai have appeared in this forest since long ago.
妖よう 怪かい を 退たい 治じ する to defeat/exorcise a yōkai
The hero defeated the yōkai that was attacking the village.
妖よう 怪かい の 話はなし a story about yōkai
I heard many stories about yōkai from my grandmother.
Kanji 妖 attractive, bewitching, calamity 怪 suspicious, mystery, apparition Related words· 8 幽霊 specifically means the ghost of a dead person, while 妖怪 covers a much wider range of supernatural beings not tied to death.
お化け is a casual, child-friendly word for ghosts and monsters, while 妖怪 is the more formal term used in folklore and academic contexts.
化け物 emphasizes a monstrous or shape-shifting creature, often with a scarier connotation, whereas 妖怪 is the neutral folkloric umbrella term.
魔物 suggests an evil, demonic being with malicious intent, while 妖怪 can include mischievous or even benign spirits as well.
Show 4 more Show fewer 妖怪 is the general word for any supernatural creature or monster, while 天狗 names one specific long-nosed, mountain-dwelling goblin.
妖怪 is a broader term for any supernatural monster or spirit, whereas 鬼 specifically denotes the horned, club-wielding ogre figure.
妖怪 refers to traditional Japanese folklore spirits and shape-shifters, while 怪物 is a more general word for any monster, real or metaphorical.
妖怪 covers a wide range of supernatural creatures, not necessarily evil, while 魔神 specifically implies malevolence and great power.
Don't confuse with 妖精 refers to fairies or elf-like beings from Western folklore, whereas 妖怪 refers to Japanese folkloric monsters and spirits, which are usually not fairy-like.
妖怪 refers to a supernatural monster or spirit from folklore that was never human, while 幽霊 is specifically the ghost of a deceased person.
Etymology From Chinese 妖怪 (yāoguài). The kanji 妖 means 'bewitching' or 'mysterious', and 怪 means 'strange' or 'mysterious'. The word was adopted into Japanese with the same meaning of strange, supernatural beings.
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