The Japanese word for ghost is yūrei and a ghost story is yūrei monogatari. Find more ‘ghost’ related words translated into Japanese here.
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| Romanji | Kanji | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghost ゆうれい | Yūrei | 幽霊 | |
| Ghost story ゆうれいものがたり | Yūrei monogatari | 幽霊物語 | |
| Ghostly ゆうれいの | Yūrei no | 幽霊の | |
| Poltergeist そうれい | Sōrei | 騒霊 | |
| Paranormal ちょうじょうてき | Chōjōteki | 超常的 |
Interesting facts about ghosts in Japan
Ghosts, known in Japan as yūrei, are an integral part of Japanese folklore and are often depicted as pale, ghostly figures with long, black hair and white, flowing robes. They have also been a major source of inspiration for many Japanese artistic/cultural works, such as literature, film, and art.
The kanji for ghost/yūrei
The kanji for yūrei is 幽霊. The first kanji – 幽 – is pronounced yu and means faint/dim and the second kanji – 霊 – is pronounced rei and means soul/spirit. So yūrei directly translates to faint/dim soul/spirit.