Share this link via
Or copy link
Kanji for Soul
The kanji most commonly used for "Soul" are 神、魂、霊.
神
Kanji that mean Soul
魂 is soul in the personal sense: the animating self, what a person is made of. It is read tamashii on its own, and it is the character in 霊魂 (soul) and in 大和魂, the Japanese spirit. This is the one to reach for if you mean an inward thing that belongs to a living person.
霊 is spirit as something separable and uncanny — the spirit of the dead, an invisible force. It gives 幽霊 (ghost) and 心霊 (spiritual, psychic), so it leans supernatural rather than inward.
神 is a step further out again: a god or deity, the kami of 神社 (shrine) and 神道 (Shinto). It touches soul only through 精神, mind or spirit in the sense of morale and mental life. So choose by direction: inward and personal is 魂, departed or otherworldly is 霊, divine is 神.
Words using Soul kanji
Everyday Japanese vocabulary built from the characters above.
-
精神
せいしん
mind; spirit; soul
-
鎮魂
ちんこん
repose of a soul; ceremony for the repose of a departed soul
-
慰霊
いれい
consoling the spirits of the dead
-
阪神
はんしん
Osaka-Kobe; Hanshin (company name: railway, dept. store, baseball team, etc.)
-
幽霊
ゆうれい
ghost; specter; spectre
-
神社
じんじゃ
Shinto shrine
-
慰霊祭
いれいさい
memorial service
-
神経
しんけい
nerve; nerves; sensitivity
-
精神的
せいしんてき
mental; spiritual; emotional
Before you use Soul kanji
魂 is the safe choice for soul and is read tamashii. Avoid 霊 unless you mean a departed or supernatural spirit — its most familiar compound is 幽霊, ghost. 神 will be read as god, which is a claim about deity rather than about your own soul.