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Kanji Detail for 魔 - "demon, magic"

魔

  • Meaning

    魔 means "demon, magic." Also associated with temptation.

    1. Demon - An evil supernatural being.

    2. Magic - Supernatural powers or effects.

    3. Temptation - Something that leads astray.

  • Words using 魔

    • 悪魔 あくま Listen devil; demon; fiend
    • 邪魔 じゃま Listen hindrance; obstacle; nuisance
    • 魔法 まほう Listen magic; witchcraft; sorcery
    • 魔女 まじょ Listen witch
    • 魔術 まじゅつ Listen magic; sorcery; witchcraft
    • 魔力 まりょく Listen magical powers; supernatural powers; spell
    • お邪魔します おじゃまします Listen please excuse the intrusion; I'm coming in

  • Four-character idioms with 魔

    • 好事多魔 こうじたま Listen happy events are often accompanied by difficulties; unsullied joy is rare
    • 寸善尺魔 すんぜんしゃくま Listen in evil, there is odds; there is more evil than good in this world; one good thing tends to cause many bad things to happen

  • Origin of 魔

    麻, hemp, lending the reading ma, sheltering 鬼, the demon. The character was coined to transliterate Sanskrit māra — the tempter who assailed the Buddha — and it kept the whole job: evil influence, magic, the devil.

    How to remember it: A demon 鬼 hiding in the hemp field 麻 — the tempter māra, spelled into kanji for the Buddha's sake.

    Sources: en.wiktionary.org · mojinavi.com

  • Tattoo check: 魔

    • Verified meaning: demon, magic
    • Official Jōyō kanji — a standard character every Japanese reader recognises
    • Used in real Japanese given names (read ま)
    • Also carries these associations: temptation
    • 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 魔

    Surnames 魔(ま)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

    witch; demon; evil spirit

    Unihan Unicode Han Database for CJK characters

    demon, evil spirits; magic power

    CC-CEDICT A Chinese-English dictionary

    (bound form) evil spirit; devil; (prefix) supernatural; magical

    Make Me a Hanzi Open-source Chinese character data

    demon, evil spirit; magic, spell

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

    A demon. One that can bewitch people and corrupt their way. | Being obsessively addicted is also called 魔. As in 酒魔 (alcohol demon), 詩魔 (poetry demon).

  • Onyomi

    tip

    ma(マ) マ

  • Kunyomi

    tip
    none

  • Strokes

    tip

    21 strokes

  • Radical

    tip

    鬼 (oni・kinyo)

  • Related Keywords

    demon magic temptation confuse mysterious evil spirit devil sorcery supernatural wicked curse enchantment dark sinister occult

Sentences including 魔

  • I am sorry if i disturbed you.

  • I hope i'm not disturbing you.

  • Can i hang out here till seven?

  • Give the devil his due.

  • May i interrupt you a while?

  • Devil may come.

  • Don't distract me while i am studying.

  • Don't interfere with my studying.

  • Don't stand in my way.

  • The hat on the desk is chama's.

Sentences from Japanese classical masterpieces

More kanji with the radical 鬼 (oni・kinyo)

See all kanji with this radical →

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