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魂魄 (hún pò) — soul, spirit, psyche (especially in Chinese cultural or philosophical contexts)

Definition

Literary term pairing hún (the spiritual/ethereal soul that departs at death) with pò (the bodily/vital spirit). The two together mean a person's soul and spirit, common in classical, literary, and horror contexts.

noun
soulspiritpsyche (especially in Chinese cultural or philosophical contexts)

Examples

  • ，魂魄。
    Chuán shuō zhōng, rén de hún pò huì zài sǐ hòu lí kāi shēn tǐ.
    According to legend, a person's soul leaves the body after death.
  • 魂魄。
    Tā bèi xià dé sān hún pò diū le qī pò.
    He was so scared that his soul nearly left his body.
  • 魂魄。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng jiǎng shù le yí gè guān yú hún pò fù shēng de kǒng bù gù shi.
    This movie tells a horror story about the revival of souls.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

魂húnsoul
魄pòspirit

魂 and 魄 both refer to spirit or soul aspects; together they mean the soul or psyche.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鬼鬼guǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
云
云yún魂hún(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

魂 is made from 鬼, the ghost component, plus 云, which supplies the sound.

Open 魂 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 魄 →
Appears in
Religion & Belief

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