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Kanji for Spirit
The kanji most commonly used for "Spirit" are 気、心、神.
気
Kanji that mean Spirit
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気
air, spirit, feeling
Onyomi: ke, ki Kunyomi: iki, ki 6 strokes Jōyō
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心
heart, mind, core
Onyomi: shin Kunyomi: gokoro, kokoro 4 strokes Jōyō
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神
god, spirit, divine
Onyomi: jin, shin Kunyomi: kami, kan, kou 9 strokes Jōyō
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魂
soul, heart, mind
Onyomi: kon Kunyomi: tama, tamashii 14 strokes Jōyō
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霊
spirit, soul, supernatural
Onyomi: rei, ryoh Kunyomi: tama 15 strokes Jōyō
Spirit splits several ways in Japanese. 気 is the everyday one: the air, mood or energy of a person or a place. It gives 元気 (vigor, good health), 気分 (mood) and 空気 (air, atmosphere). Nothing about it is supernatural. 氣 is simply its older form, still seen in martial arts writing and on old signs.
魂 and 霊 are spirit as something that outlasts the body. 魂 is the soul as the core of a person, the character in 霊魂 and in 大和魂. 霊 is the spirit of the dead and slides easily into ghost, as in 幽霊. 神 is higher again: a god or kami, the character of 神社, a shrine.
心 is heart and mind together — thought and feeling, not a detachable soul. 精 is spirit as refined essence and vitality, and is the second half of 精神, the ordinary word for mind or spirit.
Words using Spirit kanji
Everyday Japanese vocabulary built from the characters above.
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人気
にんき
popularity; public favor; condition (e.g. market)
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中心
ちゅうしん
center; centre; middle
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精神
せいしん
mind; spirit; soul
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鎮魂
ちんこん
repose of a soul; ceremony for the repose of a departed soul
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慰霊
いれい
consoling the spirits of the dead
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景気
けいき
business conditions; the market; economic activity
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関心
かんしん
concern; interest
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阪神
はんしん
Osaka-Kobe; Hanshin (company name: railway, dept. store, baseball team, etc.)
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幽霊
ゆうれい
ghost; specter; spectre
Before you use Spirit kanji
気 is the safe general choice and reads as energy or the spirit of a person or place. Avoid 霊 on its own: it reads as the spirit of the dead and shades toward ghost. Be careful with 精 too — among its meanings is semen, so keep it inside a compound such as 精神.