妖

Translingual

Etymology

Phono-semantic compound (形聲): semantic 女 + phonetic 夭

Han character

妖 (radical 38 女+4, 7 strokes, cangjie input 女竹大 (VHK), four-corner 4243₄, composition ⿰女夭)

1. strange, weird, supernatural

References

• KangXi: page 256, character 20
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6086
• Dae Jaweon: page 520, character 18
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 2, page 1031, character 7
• Unihan data for U+5996

---

Cantonese

Hanzi

妖 (jyutping jiu1, Yale yiu1)

---

Japanese

Kanji

妖 (common “Jōyō” kanji)

1. attractive
2. bewitching
3. calamity

Readings

• On: よう (yō)
• Kun: 妖しい (あや-しい, aya-shii), 妖 (およずれ, oyozure), 妖めく (なま-めく, nama-meku), 妖い (わざわ-い, wazawa-i)

Compounds

Compounds

妖人 (およずれびと, oyozurebito): a person who leads others astray with their words 妖異 (ようい, yōi): something strange and mysterious; a monster or phantom 妖艶, 妖婉 (ようえん, yōen): bewitchingly attractive; seductive 妖花 (ようか, yōka): a strangely beautiful flower; metaphorically, a strangely beautiful woman 妖怪 (ようかい, yōkai): a monster, a phantom 妖気 (ようき, yōki): a weird or unearthly feeling 妖姫 (ようき, yōki): a seductively beautiful princess, a distractingly attractive woman 妖教 (ようきょう, yōkyō): a religion that leads people astray; heresy 妖孽 (ようげつ, yōgetsu): a strange calamity; an omen or portent of misfortune 妖言 (ようげん, yōgen / およずれごと, oyozuregoto): a malicious rumor 妖光 (ようこう, yōkō): a strange and inauspicious light 妖術 (ようじゅつ, yōjutsu): witchcraft, sorcery 妖法 (ようほう, yōhō) 妖道 (ようどう, yōdō) 妖術師 (ようじゅつし, yōjutsushi): a witch, a sorcerer

妖女 (ようじょ, yōjo): a seductively or distractingly beautiful woman; a vamp; a female fairy, a siren 妖星 (ようせい, yōsei): an inauspicious or unlucky star 妖精 (ようせい, yōsei): fairy 妖精症 (ようせいしょう, yōseishō): (medical): leprechaunism, a manifestation of secondary insulin resistance 妖美 (ようび, yōbi): seductively beautiful 妖婦 (ようふ, yōfu): a seductress, a vamp 妖変 (ようへん, yōhen): a strange accident, emergency, or calamity 妖魔 (ようま, yōma): a monster, a demon 妖冶 (ようや, yōya): 妖艶, 妖婉: bewitchingly attractive; seductive 妖厄神 (ようやくじん, yōyakujin): a god of disaster and calamity; a god of disease and misfortune 妖霊 (ようれい, yōrei): an evil spirit; a phantom 妖霊星 (ようれいぼし, yōreiboshi): 妖星: an inauspicious or unlucky star 妖麗 (ようれい, yōrei): 妖美: seductively beautiful 妖化 (ようか, yōka): a demonic entity or transformation

Noun

妖 (hiragana およずれ, romaji oyozure)

1. baseless rumors about a person
2. short form of 妖言 (およずれごと, oyozuregoto), of the same meaning

Synonyms

• 妖言 (およずれごと, oyozuregoto)

---

Korean

Hanja

妖 (hangeul 요, revised yo, McCune-Reischauer yo)

---

Mandarin

Hanzi

妖 (pinyin yāo (yao1), Wade-Giles yao¹)

Compounds

• 妖術

---

Vietnamese

Han character

妖 (yêu, èo)