厉鬼 (lì guǐ) — vengeful spirit; ferocious ghost (in folklore)

Definition

A hostile, vengeful ghost from Chinese folklore — not just any 鬼 (ghost), but a fierce spirit that actively harms or seeks revenge. The 厉 emphasizes ferocity and malice, not just death.

noun
vengeful spiritferocious ghost (in folklore)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 厉鬼，。
    Zhè ge chuán shuō lǐ yǒu yí gè lì guǐ, zhuān mén zài yè lǐ chū xiàn.
    In this legend there is a vengeful spirit that appears specifically at night.
  • 厉鬼。
    Tā xiàng lì guǐ yí yàng zhuī zhe wǒ bú fàng.
    He chased me relentlessly like a ferocious ghost.
  • 厉鬼。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng jiǎng de shì lì guǐ fù chóu de gù shi.
    This movie tells the story of a vengeful spirit's revenge.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

厉lìfierce
鬼guǐghost

厉 gives fierce and 鬼 gives ghost, together a ferocious spirit.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 厲; 厉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
厂厂chǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
蠆
蠆chài厲lì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 厲 uses 厂 for meaning and 蠆 for sound; 厉 is not the form whose parts are being described.

Open 厉 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

鬼 originally drew a kneeling figure with an ugly face, perhaps a mask; the small lower right dot is a later added tail.

Open 鬼 →

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