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Definition 2025

鬼

鬼

鬼 U+9B3C, 鬼
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-9B3C
← 鬻
[U+9B3B] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 鬽 →
[U+9B3D]

Translingual

Stroke order
Stroke order
(cursive)

Han character

鬼 (radical 194 鬼+0, 10 strokes, cangjie input 竹山戈 (HUI) or 竹戈 (HI), four-corner 26213)

  1. Kangxi radical #194, ⿁ ‎(“ghost”).

Derived characters

  • Index:Chinese_radical/鬼

References

  • KangXi: page 1460, character 30
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 45758
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1993, character 19
  • Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 7, page 4427, character 1
  • Unihan data for U+9B3C

Chinese

simp. and trad.
 鬼

Glyph oriign

Historical forms of the character 鬼
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Large seal script Small seal script
Characters in the same phonetic series (鬼) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
謉 *tkuːlʔ, *krul
瑰 *kuːl, *ɡuːl
傀 *kuːl, *kʰuːlʔ
藱 *kuːl
魁 *kʰuːl
磈 *kʰuːlʔ, *qulʔ
塊 *kʰuːls, *kʰruːds
嵬 *ŋɡuːl, *ŋɡuːlʔ
隗 *ŋɡuːlʔ
槐 *ɡuːl, *ɡruːl
瘣 *ɡuːlʔ
廆 *ɡuːlʔ
溾 *ɡuːlʔ, *qruːl
螝 *ɡuːls, *krul
褢 *ɡruːl
騩 *krul, *kruls, *kul
愧 *kruls
媿 *kruls
聭 *kruls
餽 *ɡruls
鬼 *kulʔ
魏 *ŋɡuls
巍 *ŋul
犩 *ŋul, *ŋuls

Pictogram (象形) – a man or figure with an ugly face and tail.

Compare 異 (“different, strange”), where the 田 also derives from a face.

It may not be clear from the character, but the lower right “dot” is a small 厶; it is a residual tail – compare 离.

Graphically, modern form is 甶 + 儿 + 厶.

Etymology

Unknown. May be related to 威 (OC *qul, “to overawe, to terrorise”) with k-nominalisation and endoactive tone B, lit. "the thing which is doing the overawing", or related to 歸 (OC *klul, “to return”). See also 詭 (OC *krolʔ, “to deceive; peculiar”).

Pronunciation

Rime
Character 鬼
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 見 (28)
Final (韻) 微 (21)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Closed
Division (等) III
Fanqie 居偉切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang		 /kʉiX/
Pan
Wuyun		 /kʷɨiX/
Shao
Rongfen		 /kiuəiX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank		 /kujX/
Li
Rong		 /kiuəiX/
Wang
Li		 /kĭwəiX/
Bernard
Karlgren		 /kwe̯iX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex		 guǐ
Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 鬼
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)		 guǐ
Middle
Chinese		 ‹ kjwɨjX ›
Old
Chinese		 /*k-ʔujʔ/
English ghost

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter-Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 鬼
Reading # 1/1
No. 4689
Phonetic
component		 鬼
Rime
group		 微
Rime
subdivision		 2
Corresponding
MC rime		 鬼
Old
Chinese		 /*kulʔ/

Definitions

鬼

  1. ghost, especially that of a deceased who has returned to haunt the living; devil; apparition
    這房子常常鬧鬼。 / 这房子常常闹鬼。  ―  Zhè fángzǐ chángcháng nàoguǐ.  ―  This house is haunted.
  2. goblin; demon; spirit
  3. stealthy; tricky; furtive
  4. a sinister plot; a dirty trick
    心裡有鬼 / 心里有鬼  ―  xīnlǐ yǒu guǐ  ―  to harbour intentions that can't bear daylight
  5. devilish; damned; ghastly
    鬼天氣 / 鬼天气  ―  guǐ tiānqì  ―  damned weather
  6. (informal) clever; smart; quick
    這孩子鬼得很！ / 这孩子鬼得很！  ―  Zhè háizǐ guǐ dehěn!  ―  This kid is amazingly smart!
  7. (derogatory) fool; blockhead; guy
    那個老鬼又來了。 / 那个老鬼又来了。  ―  Nàge lǎoguǐ yòu lái le.  ―  That gaffer is coming again.
  8. Derogatory name for people with a flaw or vice.
    煙鬼 / 烟鬼  ―  yānguǐ  ―  heavy smoker
    酒鬼  ―  jiǔguǐ  ―  alcoholic
    懶鬼 / 懒鬼  ―  lǎnguǐ  ―  lazybones
  9. (intimate) imp; urchin
    小鬼  ―  xiǎoguǐ  ―  imp
    機靈鬼 / 机灵鬼  ―  jīlíngguǐ  ―  crafty child
  10. (regional, usually in compounds) a Caucasian or Western person
    鬼佬 [Cantonese]  ―  gwai2 lou2 [Jyutping]  ―  gweilo (derogatory term for a white person)
  11. (Cantonese, inserted in certain adjectives) so; very
  12. (vulgar) an intensifier
    什麼鬼233 / 什么鬼233  ―  shénme guǐ 233  ―  what the **** LOL
    我點鬼記得！ / 我点鬼记得！ [Cantonese]  ―  Ngo5 dim2gwai2 gei3 dak1! [Jyutping]  ―  How the **** am I supposed to remember?!
    有鬼人知咩！ [Cantonese]  ―  Jau5gwai2 jan4 zi1 me1! [Jyutping]  ―  Who [the ****] knows!
    鬼叫你…… [Cantonese]  ―  gwai2 giu3 nei5...... [Jyutping]  ―  Who the **** told you to...

Compounds

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (鬼):

Japanese

Kanji

鬼

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

Compounds

Etymology

鬼 (oni): two demon-ogres.
Kanji in this term
鬼
おに
Grade: S
kun'yomi

Thought to be derived from 隠 ‎(on, “to hide; hidden from sight”).[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

鬼 ‎(hiragana おに, romaji oni)

  1. ghost
  2. evil spirit, demon, ogre
    • 931–938, Wamyō Ruijushō, book 1, page 32:[3]
      人神 周易云、人神曰鬼、居偉反、和名於邇、或説云、於邇者、隠音之訛也、鬼物隠而不欲顯形、故以稱也。
  3. (figuratively) someone of remarkable or diabolical energy or ability, a demon
    彼女 (かのじょ)は仕事 (しごと)の鬼 (おに)だ。
    Kanojo wa shigoto no oni da.
    She is a demon for work.
  4. "it" in a game of tag, hide and seek, kick the can, etc.

Synonyms

References

  1. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
  2. ↑ 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3
  3. ↑ Minamoto, Shitagō; Kyōto Daigaku Bungakubu Kokugogaku Kokubungaku Kenkyūshitu (931–938) Shohon Shūsei Wamyō Ruijushō: Honbunhen (in Japanese), Kyōto: Rinsen, ISBN 978-4-653-00507-0, published 1968.

Korean

Hanja

鬼 • ‎(gwi) (hangeul 귀, revised gwi, McCune-Reischauer kwi, Yale kwi)

  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

鬼 (quỷ, khuỷu, quẽ, quỉ, sưu)

  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

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