精しょう霊りょう

しょ

う

りょ

う

Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

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.

See all 11 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

精しょう霊りょうを迎むかえるto welcome the spirits of the deceased (during Obon)
お盆ぼんには精しょう霊りょうを迎むかえる準じゅん備びをする。
During Obon, we prepare to welcome the spirits of the deceased.
精しょう霊りょうを送おくるto send off the spirits (at the end of Obon)
送おくり火びをたいて精しょう霊りょうを送おくる。
We light the send-off fires to see the spirits off.
精しょう霊りょうを祀まつるto venerate the spirit of the deceased
仏ぶつ壇だんで精しょう霊りょうを祀まつる。
We venerate the spirit of the deceased at the household altar.

Kanji

精refined, ghost, fairy
霊spirits, soul
聖holy, saint, sage

Related words

霊れい
霊 is a broad term for spirit or soul in general, while 精霊 specifically means the spirit of a deceased person in Buddhist Obon rites.
亡ぼう霊れい
亡霊 refers to a ghost or apparition of the dead, often with an eerie, haunting connotation, whereas 精霊 is the neutral term used for the departed soul during Buddhist memorial services.
魂たましいN1
魂 refers to the soul or life force of a person, living or dead, while 精霊 is specifically the departed soul venerated in Buddhist Obon rites.

Don't confuse with

精せい霊れい
精霊 read せいれい means a nature or elemental spirit (as in animism or fantasy), while 精霊 read しょうりょう specifically means the spirit of a deceased person in Buddhist Obon rites.

Word family

精しょう霊りょう流ながし
floating lanterns for the spirits of the deceased
新あら精しょう霊りょう
spirit of someone on their first Obon after death
精しょう霊りょう棚だな
shelf for ancestral spirit offerings during Bon
精しょう霊りょう舟ぶね
straw boat for ancestral spirits
精しょう霊りょう送おくり
sending off the spirits of the dead
ショウリョウバッタ
Oriental longheaded locust

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).

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.