Korean word

귀신

Pronunciation

Romanizationkwisin

Meaning

  • nounghost

Example

어젯밤에 귀신을 봤어.eo jet ppa me kwi si neul pwa sseo

I saw a ghost last night.

Illustration for 귀신 (ghost)

More examples

그 집은 귀신이 나온대.keu chi beun kwi si ni na on dae

They say ghosts appear in that house.

Core concept

An unseen spirit, especially the soul of someone who has died, believed to frighten or harm people.

Common phrases

  • 귀신이 붙다kwi si ni put tta

    be haunted by a ghost

  • 귀신을 보다kwi si neul po da

    see a ghost

  • 귀신이 나다kwi si ni na da

    a ghost show up

Similar words

유령yuryeong: A dead person's spirit believed to appear in a visible form.

Definition in Korean

죽은 사람의 혼이나 보이지 않는 영혼을 가리키는 말로, 사람을 놀라게 하거나 해를 끼칠 수 있다고 여겨지는 존재chu geun sa ra mui ho ni na po i ji an neun yeong ho neul ka ri ki neun mal lo sa ra meul nol la ge ha geo na hae reul kki chil ssu it tta go yeo gyeo ji neun chon jae

Word origin

The word comes from a traditional Sino-Korean term for spirits and has come to mean a ghost in everyday Korean.

Usage tips

  • In Korean stories and conversation, this word is a broad term for supernatural beings rather than the name of one particular ghost.

Other meanings

  • spiritnoun

Word lists with this word