音読み: キ
訓読み: おに
画数: 10
部首: おに（鬼）
Meaning
Demon / ogre / spirit.
- 鬼 — ogre; demon; (colloq.) tough person
- 鬼ごっこ — tag (children’s game)
- 鬼に金棒 — “like giving a metal club to an ogre”; making the strong even stronger
- 鬼面 — demon mask
- 鬼神 — fierce deity; demon-god
- 鬼才 — prodigious talent
鬼 depicts a fearsome spirit with a head and body, evoking an otherworldly presence. As a radical, it groups words related to spirits, demons, and the uncanny.
Think of 祭 — the festival with drums, masks, and ritual dance. Among the masks is the fierce 鬼面, the demon face worn to channel wild power. That vivid festival image fixes the meaning of 鬼: a potent, fearsome spirit.
Creates
鬼面 — demon mask; a fierce-looking mask used in ritual or performance.