霊 魂(れいこん)

れいこん

noun

soul; spirit

1. soul; spirit

The non-physical essence of a person believed to survive after death. Used in religious, spiritual, and philosophical contexts to refer to the soul or spirit of the deceased.

霊魂(れいこん)の存在(そんざい)を信(しん)じますか。

Do you believe in the existence of the soul?

古代(こだい)の人々(ひとびと)は霊魂(れいこん)が体(からだ)を離(はな)れると考(かんが)えた。

Ancient people believed that the soul departed from the body.

日本(にほん)では、霊魂(れいこん)は死後(しご)もこの世(よ)に留(とど)まることがあると言(い)われている。

In Japan, it is said that the soul sometimes remains in this world after death.

Usage

霊魂(れいこん) is a formal, literary word for the soul or spirit. In everyday conversation, 魂(たましい) or 霊(れい) is more common. 霊魂(れいこん) appears frequently in discussions of religion, philosophy, and traditional beliefs.

Common collocations

霊魂(れいこん)の不滅(ふめつ) (immortality of the soul)
霊魂(れいこん)が宿(やど)る (for a soul to dwell)
霊魂(れいこん)を鎮(しず)める (to pacify a spirit)

Related words

魂(たましい): soul, spirit (more common)
霊(れい): spirit, ghost
亡霊(ぼうれい): ghost of the dead

Related Words

Related: 亡霊(ぼうれい) (ghost of the dead)

general

Added 2026.3.6 22:41 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01

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