1.
spiritual sensitivity; psychic ability; sixth sense for the supernatural
The ability to sense or perceive spirits, ghosts, or supernatural phenomena.
2.
inspiration; divine inspiration; creative flash
A sudden flash of insight or creative inspiration, as if coming from a higher source.
Composed of 霊 (spirit, soul) + 感 (feeling, sense). The two senses — supernatural sensitivity and creative inspiration — both carry the idea of perceiving something beyond ordinary awareness.
Common collocations
- 霊感が強い — to have strong spiritual sensitivity
- 霊感がある — to have psychic ability
- 霊感を受ける — to receive inspiration
- 霊感を得る — to gain inspiration
- 霊感商法 — spiritualist fraud (a scam exploiting belief in spirits)
Similar words
- インスピレーション — inspiration (loanword; neutral, no supernatural connotation)
- 直感 — intuition (rational/instinctive, not supernatural)
- 第六感 — sixth sense (can be supernatural or just strong intuition)
- 超能力 — supernatural powers (broader; includes telekinesis, telepathy, etc.)
Cultural note
Belief in 霊感 is common in Japanese popular culture. TV shows about haunted places and people with spiritual abilities are popular. 霊感商法 (spiritual fraud) — where scammers claim psychic powers to sell expensive items — is a recognized social problem.