妖怪

Chinese

		goblin; witch; devil goblin; witch; devil; bewitching; enchanting; monster; phantom	queer; to blame
trad. (妖怪)		妖	怪
simp. ^#(妖怪)		妖	怪

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): yāoguài

(Zhuyin): ㄧㄠㄍㄨㄞˋ

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): ёгуэ (i͡ogue, I-III)
Cantonese (Jyutping): jiu² gwaai³ / jiu¹ gwaai³
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): yêu-koai
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): iau-koài

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yāoguài → yāoguai (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Zhuyin: ㄧㄠㄍㄨㄞˋ → ㄧㄠ ˙ㄍㄨㄞ (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yaoguåi
  - Wade–Giles: yao¹-kuai⁵
  - Yale: yāu-gwai
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: iau.guay
  - Palladius: яогуай (jaoguaj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ku̯aɪ̯⁵¹/ → /jɑʊ̯⁵⁵ g̊u̯aɪ̯²/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: ёгуэ (i͡ogue, I-III)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /iɔː²⁴ kuɛ⁴⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: jiu² gwaai³ / jiu¹ gwaai³
  - Yale: yíu gwaai / yīu gwaai
  - Cantonese Pinyin: jiu² gwaai³ / jiu¹ gwaai³
  - Guangdong Romanization: yiu² guai³ / yiu¹ guai³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jiːu̯³⁵ kʷaːi̯³³/, /jiːu̯⁵⁵ kʷaːi̯³³/
Hakka
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yêu-koai
  - Hakka Romanization System: ieu^ˊ guai
  - Hagfa Pinyim: yeu¹ guai⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /i̯eu̯²⁴⁻¹¹ ku̯ai̯⁵⁵/
- (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yêu-koai
  - Hakka Romanization System: (r)ieu^ˊ guai
  - Hagfa Pinyim: yeu¹ guai⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /(j)i̯eu̯²⁴⁻¹¹ ku̯ai̯⁵⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: iau-koài
  - Tâi-lô: iau-kuài
  - Phofsit Daibuun: iau'koaix
  - Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /iau⁴⁴⁻²² kuai²¹/
  - Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /iau³³ kuai⁴¹/
  - Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /iau⁴⁴⁻²² kuai²¹/
  - Sinological IPA (Taipei): /iau⁴⁴⁻³³ kuai¹¹/
  - Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /iau⁴⁴⁻³³ kuai²¹/

Noun

妖怪

(usually in Chinese mythology) supernatural being; monster; devil; goblin

Synonyms

edit

凶煞 (xiōngshà) (literally or figuratively)
凶神 (xiōngshén) (literally or figuratively)
妖 (yāo)
妖孽 (yāoniè)
妖物 (yāowù)
妖精 (yāojīng)
妖鬼 (yāoguǐ)
妖魔 (yāomó)
孽 (niè) (literary, or in compounds)
怪物 (guàiwu)
惡魔 / 恶魔 (èmó) (literally or figuratively)
煞 (Taiwanese Hokkien)
煞神 (shàshén) (literary, literally or figuratively)
精怪 (jīngguài)
精靈 / 精灵 (jīnglíng)
邪魔 (xiémó)
鬼仔精 (Hokkien)
鬼精 (Hokkien)
魔 (mó) (literary, or in compounds)
魔障 (mózhàng) (Buddhism)
魔鬼 (móguǐ) (literally or figuratively)

Derived terms

口袋妖怪 (Kǒudài Yāoguài)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (妖怪):

→ Japanese: 妖怪(ようかい) (yōkai)
→ Korean: 요괴(妖怪) (yogoe)
→ Vietnamese: yêu quái (妖怪)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
妖	怪
よう Grade: S	かい Grade: S
on'yomi	kan'on

Alternative spelling
祅恠

Etymology

*/ɨeu kʷæi/ → /jeukʷai/ → /joːkai/

From Middle Chinese compound 妖怪 (MC 'jew kweajH, literally “strange, supernatural + extraordinary”).

Compare modern Mandarin 妖怪 (yāoguài).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) よーかい [yòókáí] (Heiban – [0])^[1]^[2]
IPA^(key): [jo̞ːka̠i]

Homophones: 容喙, 洋灰, 溶解, 要解

Adjective

妖(よう)怪(かい) • (yōkai) ^{←えうくわい (eukwai)^?}-na (adnominal 妖(よう)怪(かい)な (yōkai na), adverbial 妖(よう)怪(かい)に (yōkai ni))

(dated) creepy, spooky, ghastly, perilous
妖怪(ようかい)な雰(ふん)囲気(いき)
yōkai na fun'iki
a creepy atmosphere / a spooky mood

Inflection

Inflection of 妖怪
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	妖怪だろ	ようかいだろ	yōkai daro
Continuative (連用形)	妖怪で	ようかいで	yōkai de
Terminal (終止形)	妖怪だ	ようかいだ	yōkai da
Attributive (連体形)	妖怪な	ようかいな	yōkai na
Hypothetical (仮定形)	妖怪なら	ようかいなら	yōkai nara
Imperative (命令形)	妖怪であれ	ようかいであれ	yōkai de are
Key constructions
Informal negative	妖怪ではない妖怪じゃない	ようかいではないようかいじゃない	yōkai de wa nai yōkai ja nai
Informal past	妖怪だった	ようかいだった	yōkai datta
Informal negative past	妖怪ではなかった妖怪じゃなかった	ようかいではなかったようかいじゃなかった	yōkai de wa nakatta yōkai ja nakatta
Formal	妖怪です	ようかいです	yōkai desu
Formal negative	妖怪ではありません妖怪じゃありません	ようかいではありませんようかいじゃありません	yōkai de wa arimasen yōkai ja arimasen
Formal past	妖怪でした	ようかいでした	yōkai deshita
Formal negative past	妖怪ではありませんでした妖怪じゃありませんでした	ようかいではありませんでしたようかいじゃありませんでした	yōkai de wa arimasen deshita yōkai ja arimasen deshita
Conjunctive	妖怪で	ようかいで	yōkai de
Conditional	妖怪なら（ば）	ようかいなら（ば）	yōkai nara (ba)
Provisional	妖怪だったら	ようかいだったら	yōkai dattara
Volitional	妖怪だろう	ようかいだろう	yōkai darō
Adverbial	妖怪に	ようかいに	yōkai ni
Degree	妖怪さ	ようかいさ	yōkaisa

Noun

妖(よう)怪(かい) • (yōkai) ^{←えうくわい (eukwai)^?}

yokai: supernatural being, monster, apparition, goblin

Usage notes

The Japanese concept of the yōkai does not map directly to any specific English term.

Synonyms

(supernatural being): 妖魔(ようま) (yōma)
(monster): 怪物(かいぶつ) (kaibutsu), 魔物(まもの) (mamono)

Derived terms

妖怪変化(ようかいへんげ) (yōkai henge, “monstrous apparition”)

References

^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

“妖怪”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

Korean

Hanja in this term
妖	怪

Noun

妖怪 • (yogoe) (hangeul 요괴)

hanja form^? of 요괴 (“monster, goblin”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
妖	怪

Noun

妖怪

chữ Hán form of yêu quái (“monster”)

[DJR-1] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-2] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

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[2]