鬼

Disembodied spirit Component (鬼)

guǐ · 10 strokes

The disembodied spirit component (鬼) is a component found in Chinese characters. In Chinese, components serve different roles: semantic elements contribute meaning, phonetic elements suggest pronunciation, and structural elements provide the character's framework. It primarily serves as a semantic element, contributing meaning related to disembodied spirit and associated concepts to the characters where it appears. It typically appears on the right side of a character. 9 characters: 2 in HSK 5, 7 in HSK 7-9. Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.

Radical vs. Component: 鬼 is also a Kangxi radical (ghost). As a radical, it classifies characters in dictionaries. As a component, it appears as a building block contributing meaning, sound, or structure. For radical-specific details, see the Disembodied spirit Radical (鬼) page.

Disembodied spirit Component at a Glance

Stroke Count10
Total Characters9
Primary RoleSemantic (meaning)
Typical Positionright side
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (7 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes15
Also a Kangxi Radical?Yes — view radical page

All Disembodied spirit Component Characters

HSK 5 (2 characters)

瑰guī(semiprecious stone)魅mèidemon

HSK 7-9 (7 characters)

槐huáiChinese scholar tree (Sophora japonica)魂húnsoul魁kuíchief愧kuìashamed魔mó(bound form) evil spirit魄pò(literary) soul魏wèiname of a vassal state of the Zhou dynasty from 661 BC in Shanxi, one of the Seven Hero Warring States

Frequently Asked Questions

What characters contain the disembodied spirit component (鬼)?
There are 9 characters containing the disembodied spirit component (鬼) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 2 in HSK 5, 7 in HSK 7-9. The most frequently used include 魔 (mó, "(bound form) evil spirit"), 魂 (hún, "soul"), 魏 (wèi, "name of a vassal state of the Zhou dynasty from 661 BC in Shanxi, one of the Seven Hero Warring States"), 愧 (kuì, "ashamed"), 瑰 (guī, "(semiprecious stone)"). Components are identified through character decomposition analysis.
Is 鬼 a radical or a component?
鬼 is both. As a Kangxi radical, 鬼 (ghost) is part of the traditional system of 214 radicals used to classify Chinese characters in dictionaries. As a component, 鬼 is a building block that contributes meaning, sound, or structure to compound characters. When a character "has the disembodied spirit radical," it means 鬼 is the character's primary classifier. When a character "contains the disembodied spirit component," it means 鬼 appears in the character's decomposition, regardless of whether it serves as the primary radical.
What sound does the disembodied spirit component (鬼) give to characters?
When 鬼 serves as a phonetic element (in 3 of its 9 characters), it commonly contributes these pronunciation patterns: gui (瑰); huai (槐); kui (愧). Phonetic components are one of the most powerful tools for reading unfamiliar characters — if you recognize 鬼 in a new character, there is a good chance the pronunciation is related. Note that tones and initial consonants may vary across characters sharing the same phonetic component.
Where does 鬼 appear in a character?
The disembodied spirit component (鬼) most commonly appears on the right side of a character. Full position breakdown: right side (6 characters), outer (enclosing) part (2 characters), inner (enclosed) part (1 characters). Knowing where a component typically sits helps with character recognition — when you see 鬼 in its usual position, you can quickly identify it and infer the character's meaning or pronunciation.
What HSK levels include disembodied spirit component characters?
Characters containing the disembodied spirit component (鬼) appear across 2 HSK levels: 2 in HSK 5, 7 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 7 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common disembodied spirit-related characters, while advanced levels add specialized or literary terms.

Sources & Standards

Components are identified through structural decomposition analysis of characters in the HSK 3.0 Standard (《国际中文教育中文水平等级标准》), published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2022 revision. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system (康熙部首).