幽霊|ゆうれいyuurei[1]atamadaka (head-high)

1. nounghost; specter; spectre; apparition; phantom
   その家いえには幽霊ゆうれいが出でるといわれる。↗

   The house is said to be haunted.

• SynonymおばけNeutralColloquial and much broader: covers monsters and shapeshifting creatures (「お化け屋敷」), while 「幽霊」 is specifically a dead person appearing as a ghost.
• Synonym亡霊ぼうれいNeutralLike 「幽霊」, but often a spirit that harms the living; also figurative for a lingering past, as in 「過去の亡霊」.
• SynonymゴーストNeutralLoanword for a ghost, but also for the double images that appear in photos or on screen; common in compounds and games.
• Related霊れいWrittenWritten/formal prose for spirits and monsters of mountain and forest, best known from 「魑魅魍魎」; not a dead person's ghost.
• Related亡者もうじゃNeutralThe dead, or figuratively a person obsessed with something, as in 「金の亡者」; often used metaphorically.
• Related死霊しりょうWrittenWritten/formal prose for the soul of a dead person, used mainly in religious and folk contexts.
• Related幽鬼ゆうきWrittenWritten/formal prose, and rare: a ghost with a grim, eerie tinge.
• Related生き霊いきりょうNeutralA vengeful spirit born of a living person's grudge, as in 「生き霊に取りつかれる」; 「幽霊」 is the spirit of someone already dead.
• Related幽魂ゆうこんWrittenWritten/formal prose, and rare: souls of the dead in the netherworld; in everyday speech say 「幽霊」 or 「霊魂」.
• Antonym実体じったいNeutralAn entity with real, tangible substance — the opposite of the intangible 「幽霊」.

Use 「幽霊」 for a dead person's ghost (「幽霊が出る」), also figuratively for someone existing in name only (「幽霊部員」). In casual speech, monsters and spooky creatures are 「お化け」; a harmful or lingering spirit is 「亡霊」; the loanword 「ゴースト」 also means ghosting in photos or on screen. 「生き霊」 is a grudge spirit of the living, 「亡者」 the dead or obsessed (「金の亡者」). 「死霊」「幽鬼」「幽魂」「魑魅」 are rare written words.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 死者ししゃの霊れい。
2. 死者ししゃの魂たましいが恨うらみや未練みれんを残のこしてそれを訴うったえるために成仏じょうぶつできずにさまよってこの世よに現あらわれた姿すがた。
3. 実際じっさいに存在そんざいしないものを形かたちだけでも存在そんざいしているように見みせかけたもの。ほぼ活動かつどう実態じったいのないもの。