oni; ogre; demon
A mythical horned, fierce creature from Japanese folklore, often red or blue, wielding a club. Also used broadly for demons or monsters.
On Setsubun, we throw beans while saying, 'Oni out, good fortune in.'
The oni in old tales usually have scary faces.
fierce person; relentless person; ogre-like person
Only with reading おに
Figurative use for a person who is exceptionally strict, merciless, or intense, like a demon.
That coach is as strict as an ogre.
He's a demon for work.
Only with reading おに
The person who is 'it' in games like tag or hide-and-seek. Reading is おに.
See also: 鬼ごっこ (おにごっこ)
In tag, Taro was the first one to be 'it'.
In hide-and-seek, if the seeker finds you, you become the next seeker.
Chinese 'Ghost' constellation
Only with reading き
Astronomy term: one of the 28 Chinese mansions, part of the Vermilion Bird. Reading is き.
One of the 28 mansions is 鬼, read as き.
Only with reading おに
Slang prefix used for emphasis, similar to 'super-' or 'mega-'. Reading is おに.
See also: 超
This ramen is super delicious!
It was an insanely busy week.
Momotaro defeated the ogre.
Whoever loses rock-paper-scissors becomes 'it'.
This week is super busy.
Everyone played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would be 'it'.
鬼 is a concrete ogre-like demon from Japanese folklore with a fixed appearance, while 魔 is a vaguer, more abstract evil spirit or force.
hag; witch; bitch; spiteful old woman
Siebold's dragonfly; jumbo dragonfly
crown-of-thorns starfish
decorative ridge-end tile with a demon face · hideous face; scary face
imp; goblin; small demon
freeze tag
ushi-oni; ox-headed monster
color tag; color oni
red demon; red ogre
blue demon; blue ogre
tag game where being off the ground makes you safe
tag (children's game); tig
fierce-looking girl; bad-tempered girl · demon woman (misemono role)