Japanese

Noun

気配 ‎(shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 氣配, hiragana けはい, romaji kehai, alternative reading きはい, romaji kihai)

1. sign, hint, air, promise, shadow or presence

   人 (ひと)の気 (け)配 (はい)がしない。

   Hito no kehai ga shinai.

   There is no sign of people.

2. (fiction) a sort of "aura" or "chi" radiated from people or things that denotes their nearby presence
   • 2002 August 22, Akinobu Uraku, “泣なき虫むしテイル [Tail the Crybaby]”, in 東とう京きょうアンダーグラウンド [Tokyo Underground], volume 9 (fiction, in Japanese), Tokyo: Enix, ISBN 4-7575-0733-X, page 128:

     不 (ふ)思 (し)議 (ぎ)ですねっ　気 (け)配 (はい)を消 (け)していたのに

     Fushigi desu neh Kehai o keshite ita noni

     That's strange　I'm pretty sure I erased my aura

     完 (かん)璧 (ぺき)すぎんだよ　人 (ひと)ゴミの中 (なか)で逆 (ぎゃく)に浮 (う)いてたぜ

     Kanpeki sugin da yo hitogomi no naka de gyaku ni uiteta ze

     On the contrary　doing that too perfectly makes you stand out in a crowded area

   • 2004 August 17, CLAMP, “見みえない未み来らい [The Unseen Future]”, in ツバサ-RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE- [Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE], volume 7 (fiction, in Japanese), Tokyo: Kodansha, ISBN 4-06-363416-7, page 29:

     黒 (くろ)鋼 (がね)さんの気 (け)配 (はい)だ昨日 (きのう)の桜 (おう)都 (と)国 (こく)の人 (ひと)達 (たち)とは違 (ちが)う　同 (おな)じ生 (い)きているものでも気 (け)配 (はい)はそれぞれ違 (ちが)うんだ

     Kurogane-san no kehai da kinō no Ōtokoku no hitotachi to wa chigau Onaji ikiteiru mono demo kehai wa sorezore chigaunda

     Kurogane-san's aura is different from other people's from yesterday in Ōtokoku　Which means auras vary even among the same kind of living beings