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妖怪 (yāo guài) — monster, demon, spirit (in Chinese mythology)

Definition

妖怪 is a generic folkloric 'monster/demon' in Chinese mythology — broader than 怪物 (often a fictional creature or oddity) and more traditional/classical than 鬼 (ghost or spirit).

noun
monsterdemonspirit (in Chinese mythology)
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 《》，妖怪。
    Zài 《xī yóu jì》 lǐ, hěn duō yāo guài dōu xiǎng chī táng sēng ròu.
    In Journey to the West, many monsters want to eat Tang Sanzang's flesh.
  • 妖怪。
    Zhè ge xiǎo shuō de zhǔ jué shì yí gè shàn liáng de yāo guài.
    The protagonist of this novel is a kind monster.
  • ，妖怪。
    Tā huà le yì fú huà, shàng miàn quán shì qí xíng guài zhuàng de yāo guài.
    She drew a picture covered with grotesque monsters.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

妖yāodemon
怪guàimonster

妖 means demon and 怪 means monster, so 妖怪 refers to a frightening supernatural creature.

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
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
夭
夭yāo妖yāo
Same sound today

妖 is built from 女 (woman) and 夭; the 女 part relates to the meaning, while 夭 gives the sound.

Open 妖 →

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
忄Written in full as心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
圣
圣shèng怪guài
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.

Open 怪 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Mythology & Folklore

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.