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Kanji Detail for 鬼 - "demon, supernatural"

鬼

  • Meaning

    鬼 means "demon, supernatural." Also associated with monster.

    1. Demon - The soul of the dead; ghost; spirit.

    2. Monster - A supernatural creature; specter.

    3. Supernatural - Having unfathomable power; mysterious force.

    4. Outstanding - Superhuman; beyond human ability.

    5. Ogre - An imaginary creature with human form and two horns.

    6. Cruel - Harsh; brutal.

    7. Brave - Strong; valiant.

    8. Huge - Extraordinarily large.

  • Words using 鬼

    • 吸血鬼 きゅうけつき Listen vampire; bloodsucker
    • 鬼神 きしん Listen fierce god
    • 鬼ごっこ おにごっこ Listen tag (children's game); tig

  • Four-character idioms with 鬼

    • 疑心暗鬼 ぎしんあんき Listen suspicion will raise bogies; once you suspect something, everything else will look suspicious; jumping at shadows
    • 仏心鬼手 ぶっしんきしゅ Listen compassionate ruthlessness; merciless scalpel of a merciful surgeon
    • 牛鬼蛇神 ぎゅうきだしん Listen wicked and perverse; weird and incoherent
    • 百鬼夜行 ひゃっきやぎょう Listen nightly procession of monsters, spirits, etc.; veritable pandemonium; large number of people plotting and doing evil
    • 神出鬼没 しんしゅつきぼつ Listen appearing in unexpected places and at unexpected moments; elusive; phantom
    • 神算鬼謀 しんさんきぼう Listen inscrutable stratagem; ingenious scheme

  • Origin of 鬼

    A pictograph of a spirit of the dead: a crouching figure wearing a huge, fearsome head or mask. The extra stroke at the base was read as its trailing vapor. From "ghost" it grew into Japan's horned oni.

    How to remember it: A body wearing a giant demon mask — the dead walking with a monstrous head: the oni.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 鬼

    • Verified meaning: demon, supernatural
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read おに, おにかつ, おにやなぎ, きさらぎ)
    • Also carries these associations: monster
    • Traditionally considered inauspicious in names — Japanese readers may find it an unlucky choice. Check the meanings above carefully before using it on skin.

    A single kanji rarely maps one-to-one onto an English word. Read the meanings and associations above as a set — a character that fits the dictionary definition can still carry a connotation you did not intend.

  • Name readings of 鬼

    Surnames 鬼(おに)Listen 鬼(おにかつ)Listen 鬼(おにやなぎ)Listen 鬼(きさらぎ)Listen 鬼(みにわ)Listen

  • Compare with other kanji that mean the same thing:

  • Dictionary Citations

    The meaning above is based on the following sources:

    KANJIDIC2 A comprehensive Japanese-English kanji dictionary

    ghost; devil

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    ghost; spirit of dead; devil; Kangxi radical 194; 23rd lunar mansion, determinative star θ Cancri

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    disembodied spirit; ghost; devil; (suffix) person with a certain vice or addiction etc; sly; crafty; resourceful (variant of 詭|诡[gui3]); one of the 28 constellations of ancient Chinese astronomy

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    ghost; demon; sly, mischievous

    XSZD Xuéshēng Zìdiǎn (學生字典) - Student's Dictionary

    When a person dies, they become a ghost. | A metaphor for someone crafty and sinister. As in 鬼蜮 (demons and sprites) and the like. | A star name. One of the twenty-eight lunar mansions.

  • Onyomi

    tip

    ki(キ) キ

  • Kunyomi

    tip

    oni(おに) おに

  • Strokes

    tip

    10 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    鬼 (oni・kinyo)

  • Related Keywords

    demon monster supernatural ogre ghost evil spirit yokai brave cruel huge powerful outstanding imaginative devil fiend goblin fierce fearless frightening sinister macabre eerie otherworldly spectral bold courageous malevolent

Sentences including 鬼

  • Fortune is the rod of the weak, and the staff of the brave.

  • Even the hard-hearted can be moved to tears.

  • Let's play tag.

  • When the cat is away, the mice will play.

  • You're a workaholic.

  • He is an eager beaver.

  • When the cat is away, the mice will play.

  • The devil lurks behind the cross.

  • Do you want to play tag?

  • There are no demons in this world.

More kanji with the radical 鬼 (oni・kinyo)

See all kanji with this radical →

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