怪物 – Halloween Monsters in Japanese
There are a lot of ways to say monster in Japanese. So, with Halloween just around the corner, it is the perfect time to learn how to talk about these Halloween monsters in Japanese!
妖怪 – 7 Words for Monster in Japanese
Depending on if you are talking about Japanese monsters, western monsters, or other types of monsters you may use a different word. Today specifically I want to talk about Western Monsters, like the ones you would see people dress as on Halloween. In recent years Halloween has become more popular in Japan. There is no better time than now to know the Japanese words for these Halloween Monsters. Let’s get started.
- 魔女
- お化け
- 狼男
- 吸血鬼
- ゾンビ
- 悪魔
- 死神
- ミイラ
- フランケンシュタイン
- 骸骨
INDEX
魔女 – Witch
First, we have 魔女 which means witch in Japanese. The word can be broken down into 魔 which means a lot of different things. It can mean magic, devil, or evil depending on the word it comes in. Next, 女 is the character of a woman in Japanese. So, 魔女 would translate to something close to woman who does magic, or something like that.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/お化け – Ghost
お化け is the Japanese word used to talk about the white, floating ghosts that you see people dress as during Halloween. The word お化け is not the only word for ghost, however.
幽霊 – How to say Ghost in Japanese
Japanese has several different words for ghosts which are all used a little differently.
狼男 – Werewolf
The word for werewolf in Japanese is 狼男. 狼 means wolf and 男 means man. So basically, 狼男 would translate to wolf-man exactly.
吸血鬼 – Vampire
吸血鬼 means vampire in Japanese. 吸血 means to suck blood and 鬼 is the character for Oni which is a type of Japanese ogre or Devil. But, it is used as a character to represent monsters also. So, 吸血鬼 would be a blood-sucking monster.
The word ドラキュラ which is from Dracula is also sometimes said. This is said for basically the stereotypical vampire with a cape that turns into a bat. Basically, it means the same thing in English and Japanese.
ゾンビ – Zombie
Next, we have everyone’s favorite, ゾンビ. This word comes directly from the English word, zombie and means the exact same thing.
悪魔 – Devil
There are several different words for devil in Japanese. That depends on the type or what you are trying to say when you are talking about a devil
悪魔 – 4 Japanese words for Devil and the Difference between them
The word 悪魔 is the most common word for devil in Japanese.
死神 – Grim Reaper
死神 is Grim Reaper in Japanese. It translates actually to god of death, or spirit of death depending on how you want to translate 神.
ミイラ – Mummy
Mummies are also popular monsters around Halloween. The Japanese word for mummy is ミイラ.
フランケンシュタイン – Frankenstein
The novel Frankenstein’s Monster came out in 1818. It was so influential that everyone knows about the monster created by Victor Frankenstein. But everyone for whatever reason has named the monster after its creator. And so everyone calls the creature Frankenstein. The same goes for people in Japan. The word for Frankenstein in Japanese is フランケンシュタイン.
骸骨 – Skeleton
Skeletons are kind of like zombies I guess. But they are missing most of their body and left with only the bones. 骸骨 is skeleton in Japanese and like English the same word is said for a living persons skeleton as well as the monster version.
