Refers to something mysterious, wondrous, or inexplicable. Often used in literary or formal contexts, and commonly appears in compounds like 怪奇 (kaiki, bizarre) or 怪談 (kaidan, ghost story).
その事件は多くの怪を残したまま終わった。
The case ended leaving many mysteries unsolved.
彼の話には怪がある。
There is something strange about his story.
yōkai; supernatural creature; monster; ghost
monster; giant monster
monster
ghost story; supernatural tale
mysterious thief; phantom thief
mysterious person; strange figure
bizarre; strange; weird; mysterious · grotesque
strange; weird; mysterious; outrageous
superhuman strength; monstrous strength
The kanji 怪 combines the 'heart' radical 忄 with 圣 (a phonetic component). It originally conveyed a sense of something strange or suspicious that unsettles the mind. The reading かい is the on'yomi, commonly used in Sino-Japanese compounds.
mystery; strangeness; bizarre phenomenon · ghost; monster; apparition
dubious document; anonymous defamatory letter
mysterious death; suspicious death
female ghost; female apparition; female monster
strange and troubling; mysterious and unsettling
ghost; apparition; spirit
mystery; strange event; mysterious affair
extraordinary person; wonder; marvel
evil priest; mad monk
actor with a unique, fascinating presence
mysterious light; strange light
strange dream; mysterious dream
strange tree; mysterious tree