怪 (pinyin: guai) is much broader and can refer to any kind of monstrous entity, whether inherently magical or not.

In Wang Chong's 1st century text the Balanced Discussions, things such as animals, plants, and rocks are said to be endowed a human-like essence and capacities as a result of immense age ('物之老者，其精为人'). spiritual awareness), the ability to assume human or near-human forms, supernatural or magical powers, as well as the ability to cultivate so as to achieve immortality or transcendence. In later terminology, yāo refers to natural objects (animals, plants or rocks) which have acquired sentience (lit. Yāo are blamed for sudden outbreaks of confused and erratic action, or transgressive behaviour ('胡作非为'), with one saying being that 'when affairs go awry, there must have been a yāo (acting)' ('事出反必有妖'). These included freakish vegetation ('草妖')，eerie sounds ('鼓妖')，the unnatural onset of fog and darkness ('夜妖')，as well as a sudden loss in verbal fluency or inability to express oneself ('诗妖'). Each word individually signifies and connotes strangeness.Ĭlassical usages of both terms relate to preternatural phenomena and freakish occurrences where explanation fell outside the limited understanding of those observing them. 怪 (guài) means strange or unusual when used as an adjective, and monster or unusual creature as a noun.

妖 (yāo) is a noun meaning monster or demon. Yaoguai (妖怪) is a compound word consisting of two Chinese characters. ' daemon') or yaojing (妖精 yāojīng, often translated as ' sprite' or ' faerie') are loosely related terms. Yaoguai (妖怪 pinyin yāoguài) is a term for monsters or strange creatures.

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