靈

Means “spirit, divine being” (神靈), “soul, ghost” (망령, 妄靈), “supernatural being.”

Also used for “spiritual efficacy, responsiveness, miraculous power.”

A phono-semantic compound:

巫 (“shaman, medium”) provides the semantic element.

霝 (ryeong, “rain, spirit influence”) provides the phonetic element.

Mnemonic:

“A shaman (巫) offering three animal heads (口口口) beneath rain (雨) in a ritual.”

Historical Forms:

In Oracle Bone Script, shown as 雨 above three mouths (口口口), with 示 (altar, sacrifice) below.

In Small Seal Script, 示 transformed into 巫, giving the modern form 靈.

神靈 (신령) – divine spirit, deity;

靈魂 (영혼) – soul, spirit;

靈驗 (영험) – efficacious, miraculously effective;

靈芝 (영지) – reishi mushroom, believed to have spiritual and medicinal power;

靈感 (영감) – inspiration, spiritual insight;

靈妙 (영묘) – mysterious, miraculous.

In Confucian tradition, 靈 is not emphasized as much as 祖 (ancestor) or 孝 (filial duty), but it appears in ritual contexts (祭祀) referring to the spirit-presence of ancestors during ceremonies.

In Daoism, 靈 refers to numinous power (靈氣), the mysterious energy pervading nature and deities.

In Buddhism, 靈 is often used in translating Sanskrit terms for spirit, soul, or miraculous efficacy.

In folk religion and shamanism, 靈 denotes the active presence of spirits, and the effectiveness of rituals (靈驗).