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妖怪変化 (ようかいへんげ) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
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へん
化げ
が
出で
る
と
いう
噂うわさ
が
ある
。
There is a rumor that a monstrous apparition appears at that old temple.
Kanji 妖 attractive, bewitching, calamity 怪 suspicious, mystery, apparition 変 unusual, change, strange 化 change, take the form of, influence Related words 妖よう 怪かい 妖怪 is the common term for a Japanese folkloric monster or spirit. 妖怪変化 is a more emphatic, literary compound emphasizing transformation and grotesqueness.
変へん 化げ 変化 alone can mean a ghost or apparition, but 妖怪変化 combines it with 妖怪 to intensify the monstrous, shape-shifting nuance.
Etymology A yojijukugo combining 妖怪 (monster, apparition) and 変化 (transformation, ghost). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it likely emerged in literary or folkloric contexts to describe shape-shifting or terrifying supernatural beings.
