Guai
/ɡwaɪ/noun
A transliteration variant of the Chinese term for a ghost, spirit, or supernatural being.
Did you know?In Chinese religious and folkloric vocabulary, the related character 鬼 can refer not only to a ghost but also to uncanny forces, spirits, or beings perceived as outside ordinary human society.
Etymological Timeline
Old Chinese, 1st millennium BCE
Old Chinese
鬼 (*ʔkujʔ)
“A ghost, dead person’s spirit, or supernatural being”
Middle Chinese, 6th–10th Century
Middle Chinese
鬼 (kujX)
“Ghost or spirit; the written form underlying later pronunciations”
Late Imperial Chinese
Chinese
怪 (guài)
“Strange, anomalous, or uncanny; a related supernatural descriptor sometimes romanized in English as guai”
19th–20th Century
English loan usage
gui / guai
“Transliterations used in English-language writing for Chinese ghosts, spirits, or uncanny beings”
Modern English
English
guai
“A rare variant transliteration of gui, referring to a Chinese ghost or supernatural entity”