天邪鬼

Chinese

		day; sky; heaven	daemonical; iniquitous; nefarious	ghost; sly; crafty
trad. (天邪鬼)		天	邪	鬼
simp. #(天邪鬼)		天	邪	鬼

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tiānxiéguǐ

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄢ ㄒㄧㄝˊ ㄍㄨㄟˇ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tiānxiéguǐ
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄢ ㄒㄧㄝˊ ㄍㄨㄟˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tiansiéguěi
    • Wade–Giles: tʻien¹-hsieh²-kuei³
    • Yale: tyān-syé-gwěi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tianshyegoei
    • Palladius: тяньсегуй (tjanʹseguj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ɕi̯ɛ³⁵ ku̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/

Noun

天邪鬼

1. amanojaku

Japanese

天邪鬼 (amanojaku): an Edo period image of an amanojaku demon.

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
天	邪	鬼
あま Grade: 1	じゃ Grade: S	く Grade: S
kun'yomi	on'yomi	irregular

Alternative spelling
天の邪鬼

Compound of 天(あま) (ama, “heaven”) + の (no, possessive particle) + 邪鬼(じゃき) (jaki, “vengeful spirit, cursing kami”).

The jaku reading for the 邪鬼 term is unusual, and the reason for this deviation from the expected jaki reading is unclear. One theory holds that the reading is a shift from 天探女 (ama no sagume), the name of a yōkai that appears in ancient Japanese tales and that seems to have been conflated with the Buddhist jaki, a malevolent demon that leads people astray from the path to enlightenment:

• /ama no saɡume/ → /amanozaku/ → /amanod͡ʑaku/

There is a cluster of phonologically similar forms listed in some sources, referring either to the Buddhist entity or the yōkai, consistent with the conflation theory:

• /amanod͡ʑaku/, /amanod͡ʑako/, /amanozaku/, /amanozako/, /amanɕaɡume/

The amanojaku reading appears to be the most common reading for the 天邪鬼 spelling.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) あまのじゃく [àmánóꜜjàkù] (Nakadaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [a̠ma̠no̞ʑa̠kɯ̟]

Noun

天邪鬼(あまのじゃく) • (amanojaku) 

1. a kind of oni that appears in various folktales as the bad guy, who deliberately goes against what people say
2. someone with a personality or behavior reminiscent of the folktale character: a crank, a perverse person

   Synonyms: 捻くれ者 (hinekure-mono), 旋毛曲り (tsumuji-magari)

3. (Buddhism) in Buddhist statuary, the small devil or demon being trampled under the feet of a 仁王 (Niō, “Deva king”) or one of the 四天王 (Shitennō, “four Deva warriors”)
4. (Buddhism) in Buddhist statuary, the devil or demon face on the breastplate of 毘沙門天 (Bishamonten, “Vaiśravaṇa”)

Related terms

• 天(あまの)探(さぐ)女(め) (amanosagume, “malevolent Shintō entity”)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
天	邪	鬼
あま Grade: 1	じゃ Grade: S	く Grade: S
kun'yomi	on'yomi	irregular

Alternative spelling
天ん邪鬼

Sound shift from amanojaku above, contracting the の (no) to just ん (n).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) あまんじゃく [àmáꜜǹjàkù] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [a̠mã̠ɲ̟d͡ʑa̠kɯ̟]

Noun

天邪鬼(あまんじゃく) • (amanjaku) 

1. synonym of 天邪鬼 (amanojaku, “a devil; a contrary oni”)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
天	邪	鬼
あま Grade: 1	じゃ Grade: S	こ Grade: S
kun'yomi	on'yomi	irregular

Alternative spelling
天の邪鬼

Appears to be a sound shift from amanojaku above.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [a̠ma̠no̞ʑa̠ko̞]

Noun

天邪鬼(あまのじゃこ) • (amanojako) 

1. synonym of 天邪鬼 (amanojaku, “a devil; a contrary oni”)

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
天	邪	鬼
あま Grade: 1	じゃ Grade: S	こ Grade: S
kun'yomi	on'yomi	irregular

Alternative spelling
天ん邪鬼

Sound shift from amanojako above, contracting the の (no) to just ん (n).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [a̠mã̠ɲ̟d͡ʑa̠ko̞]

Noun

天邪鬼(あまんじゃこ) • (amanjako) 

1. synonym of 天邪鬼 (amanojaku, “a devil; a contrary oni”)

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
天	邪	鬼
あま Grade: 1	ざ Grade: S	こ Grade: S
kun'yomi	irregular

Alternative spelling
天邪古

Appears to be a sound shift from amanojako above. Alternatively, may be a separate shift from amanosagume:

• /ama no saɡume/ → /amanozaku/ → /amanozako/

Listed with this reading as Amanozaco in the 1603 edition of the Nippo Jisho.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [a̠ma̠no̞za̠ko̞]

Noun

天邪鬼(あまのざこ) • (amanozako) 

1. synonym of 天邪鬼 (amanojaku, “a devil; a contrary oni”)