鬼魂 (guǐ hún) — ghost; spirit; apparition | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

ghostspiritapparition

Measure word · 个

Examples

，。
Tā hài pà wǎn shàng yí gè rén dài zhe, yīn wèi jué de yǒu guǐ hún.
He is afraid to stay alone at night because he feels there are ghosts.
鬼魂。
Zhè bù diàn yǐng jiǎng de shì yí gè guǐ hún fù chóu de gù shi.
This movie tells a story of a spirit seeking revenge.
。
Chuán shuō zhè zuò lǎo zhái lǐ jīng cháng yǒu guǐ hún chū mò.
Legend has it that ghosts often haunt this old mansion.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

鬼 and 魂 both denote spiritual beings, so together they name a ghost or spirit.

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.

云鬼魂

Meaning part形符xíngfú

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.

Appears in

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