What does “majin” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “majin” often to mean ‘evil spirit’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail together with its kanji expressions. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “majin” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “majin”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “majin”.
- majin – 魔人/魔神 (まじん) : a noun meaning ‘evil spirit’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
“Majin” has two different kanji expressions. The first one refers to evil spirits which still look like humans; the second one refers to those which are not similar to humans any longer and thus can mean even ‘great devil’ or ‘evil god’ in Japanese.
The definition and meanings are not that difficult, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji expressions in detail, one by one.
What does “majin” literally mean in Japanese?
The first kanji expression of “majin” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 魔 : a kanji character used to mean ‘devil’, ‘demon’, or ‘something supernatural’ in Japanese.
- 人 : a kanji character used to mean ‘person’ in Japanese.
These two kanji characters tell us that the first kanji expression of “majin” literally means a ‘devil person’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the actual meaning, but still understandable, I think. Evil spirits still similar to humans can be considered as devil-like people.
The second kanji expression of “majin” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 魔 : the same as just explained. This is a kanji character used to mean ‘devil’, ‘demon’, or ‘something supernatural’ in Japanese.
- 神 : a kanji character used to mean ‘god’ in Japanese.
These two kanji characters tell us that the second kanji expression of “majin” literally means a ‘devil god’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the actual meaning either, but also still understandable, I think. Evil spirits which don’t look like humans any longer can be considered as devil-like gods.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “majin” through the detailed kanji checks above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “majin” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “evil spirit” in Japanese
ore wa yume de majin ni at ta – 俺は夢で魔人に会った (おれはゆめでまじんにあった)
I met an evil spirit in my dream.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- ore – 俺 (おれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “ore” to make the subject in the sentence.
- yume – 夢 (ゆめ) : a noun meaning ‘dream’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- de – で : a case particle used to say where someone does something. In the example, this is used after “yume” to say where the speaker met the evil spirit.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say in which direction an action goes. In the example, this is used after “majin” to say whom the speaker met in the dream.
- at – 会っ (あっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “au”, which means ‘to meet’ or ‘to see’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “at” to make its past tense form, “at ta”.
This is a typical usage of “majin”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “ni”, to become the object in the sentence.
Example #2: another usage of “majin”
kanojo wa majin no musume desu – 彼女は魔神の娘です (かのじょはまじんのむすめです)
She is a daughter of the evil god.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle joining two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this works to join “majin” and “musume”. The formed phrase literally means ‘a daughter of the evil god’ in Japanese. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is similar to that of the English preposition, “of”.
- musume – 娘 (むすめ) : a noun meaning ‘daughter’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. In the example, this is used after “majin no musume” to make it sound polite.
This is another typical usage of “majin”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase, “majin no musume”, which means ‘a daughter of the evil god’ in Japanese. When we want to refer to evil spirits in Japanese, anyway, this noun is a good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “majin” in detail together with its kanji expressions. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- majin – 魔人/魔神 (まじん) : a noun meaning ‘evil spirit’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. The first kanji expression refers to evil spirits which still look like humans; the second one refers to those which are not similar to humans any longer and thus can mean even ‘great devil’ or ‘evil god’ in Japanese.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
