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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.
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.