鬼怪 (guǐ guài) — ghosts and monsters; evil spirits

Definition

noun

ghosts and monstersevil spirits

Measure word · 个

鬼怪。
Zhè ge gù shi lǐ yǒu hěn duō guǐ guài.
This story has many ghosts and monsters.
鬼怪，。
Rén men hài pà guǐ guài, suǒ yǐ wǎn shàng bù gǎn chū mén.
People are afraid of ghosts and monsters, so they don't dare go out at night.
鬼怪。
Gǔ dài chuán shuō zhōng yǒu gè zhǒng gè yàng de guǐ guài.
In ancient legends, there are all kinds of ghosts and monsters.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

鬼怪 puts 鬼 (ghosts) and 怪 (monsters) side by side to mean supernatural evil beings.

Characters in this word

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.

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

忄圣怪

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīn

Sound part声符shēngfú

圣

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

怪 is built from 忄, a form of 心, which relates to mind or feeling, and 圣, which gives the sound.

Appears in