1.
guardian spirit; spirit hovering behind a person
A spirit believed to be attached to or following behind a person. Can refer to a protective ancestral spirit or, in popular culture, to a ghost that haunts someone by standing behind them.
背後霊がいるような気がする。
I feel like there's a spirit behind me.
霊能者に背後霊が見えると言われた。
A psychic told me they could see a spirit behind me.
テレビの心霊番組では背後霊の話題がよく取り上げられるが、信じるかどうかは人それぞれだ。
TV shows about the supernatural often feature the topic of guardian spirits, but whether or not to believe is up to each individual.
A compound of 背後 (behind, at one's back) and 霊 (spirit, ghost). The term became widely known through Japanese spiritual and occult media. It can refer to either a benevolent guardian spirit (similar to a guardian angel) or a malevolent haunting spirit, depending on the context.
The concept was particularly popularized in the 1980s through spiritual counselors and TV programs. It is now commonly used in everyday conversation, often humorously, to describe the feeling of someone or something hovering behind you.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 背後霊がいる: a spirit is behind someone
- 背後霊が見える: to be able to see a spirit behind someone
- 背後霊が憑いている: a spirit is attached to someone
- 背後霊を祓う: to exorcise a spirit
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 守護霊: guardian spirit — always protective, similar to a guardian angel
- 地縛霊: earthbound spirit — a ghost bound to a specific location
- 生霊: living spirit — the spirit of a living person projected through strong emotion
- 幽霊: ghost; phantom — the general term for ghosts of the dead