妖怪 – 7 Words for Monster in Japanese
There are a surprising number of different ways to say monster in Japanese. Each word has its own unique nuances to them. Plus, the words for the monster in Japanese overlap. So if you look them up in a dictionary you will see similar definitions and suggestions for other words. This alone makes it hard to know which word to choose if you want to be specific. Not to worry though, you are in the right place. I will clear all the confusion up below
INDEX
How to say Monster in Japanese
Basically, all words for monster in Japanese refer to some imaginary or real-life creature with unnatural characteristics or powers. So, the monster maybe just be a common animal but that animal is doing something supernatural. It may also be a creature with animal and human characteristics or completely made-up. The monster could have other characteristics like being grotesque or evil, or it may just be mischievous and look normal.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/
Also, certain words may mean basically the same thing but refer to different groups of monsters. For example, 妖怪 compared to 化け物, which we will discuss below.
Words for Monster in Japanese
The 7 words for monster in Japanese are as follows:
- 妖怪
- 化け物
- お化け
- 怪物
- 怪獣
- モンスター
- 魔物
Let’s take a look at them one-by-one.
妖怪
妖怪 is the first Japanese word for monster. This is one if not the most common word for talking about monsters in general. 妖怪 has a more specific nuance to it, however. It refers to traditional monsters in Japanese folklore. If you ever have seen the Anime, ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 (GeGeGe no Kitaro), the monsters are based on mostly traditional Japanese 妖怪 and thus referred to as 妖怪.
You can say 妖怪 though when talking about other country’s monsters, though.
西洋の妖怪
Western Monsters
化け物
化け物 is a special type of monster that requires a bit of explanation.
First, the word 化け物 comes from the verb, 化ける. This word means to shape-shift or change into something. In Japanese folklore often you will have a story of some animal turning into a person, or something else. These animals would be known as 化け物.
化け狐 – Shapeshifting Fox
化け狸 – Shapeshifting Tanuki (raccoon-dog)
化け猫 – Shapeshifting Cat
You can see above, that the verb 化ける, 化け is used as a prefix to refer to different animals.
Today though, 化け物 means more than just shapeshifters. 化け物 is another general word to refer to monsters and ghosts. Unlike 妖怪 which has a nuance to refer to traditional monsters in Japanese folklore, 化け物 has equal weighting for monsters all over the world.
お化け
Next, お化け is another form of the word 化け物. It has the same source as 化け物 and means basically the same thing.
化け物 and お化け both refer to monsters and ghosts. But, most of the time 化け物 refers to monsters while お化け means ghosts. There are several other words for ghosts though which are beyond the scope of this post.
怪物
怪物 is another word for monster in Japanese. 怪物 is defined as any mysterious or unknown, spooky or eery creature. Basically what we would think of from the traditional definition of a monster in English. So for example Halloween monsters or some traditional western monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, and so on.
In the manga 怪物くん (The Monster Kid), the monsters here are all western monsters such as the Wolfman, Frankenstein, and so on.
Finally, 怪物 also can refer to people with some sort of ability beyond the normal person. For example, someone who is really good at baseball.
野球の怪物
literal translation: Baseball Monster
怪獣
Next, we have a similar name but a very different type of monster. 怪獣 is the name for those big, often dinosaur-like creatures such as Godzilla, King Kong, or even the Lochness Monster. So, 怪獣 would be the creatures that show up in the Godzilla movies or in the Ultraman series.
モンスター
The English word, monster, also has been imported and is now another Japanese word for monster. In Japanese that is モンスター. This word is similar or pretty much the same as 怪物 when talking about monsters. However, just like in English were you can call a really bad person a monster, you can use モンスター the same way in Japanese. You can not use 怪物, 妖怪 or other words for monster in that situation.
Other than that, モンスター is not said as commonly as the other words in Japanese even though it can be. モンスター though may be used sometimes in certain games for the enemy characters. For example, Dragon Quest or Monster Hunter.
魔物
The last word is 魔物. The character 魔 means evil and this word refers to monsters, devils, or other evil creatures. The other types of monsters don’t necessarily need to be evil.
悪魔 – 4 Japanese words for Devil and the Difference between them
When you talk about something as a 魔物 it suggests that the being is evil, has some intent to deceive, or is mischievous in some way.
