<p>This question is more advanced.</p>

<p>--</p>

<p>In short, </p>

<p>魂 is more related to the 陽 Yang side (the male, the bright, the sun side) of the spirit or soul.  </p>

<p>魄 is more related to the 陰 Yin side (the female, the dark, the moon side) of the spirit or soul.</p>

<p>--</p>

<p>You may find the following texts valuable.</p>

<p>1) <a href="https://www.zhihu.com/question/23474694" rel="nofollow noreferrer">道教原始的生命观认为，魂和魄一个属阴，一个属阳，一个主静，一个主动。阳魂就是思想，主动，是注意力，是对身体接触到外世界之后的第一反映，阴魄就是不变化的本源，主静，是对思想的承载，是一切万有的实质和内含。宇宙天地万物的总依赖。所以魂和魄之中，阴魄是体，阳魂为用。-- from www.zhihu.com/</a></p>

<p>2) <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AD%82%E9%AD%84" rel="nofollow noreferrer">在中國哲學之中，魂魄陰陽對反，魂為陽性精氣，魄為陰性精氣</a></p>

<p>3) "Within this ancient soul dualism tradition, every living human has both a hun spiritual, ethereal, yang soul which leaves the body after death, and also a po corporeal, substantive, yin soul which remains with the corpse of the deceased. Some controversy exists over the number of souls in a person; for instance, one of the traditions within <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hun_and_po" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Daoism proposes a soul structure of sanhunqipo 三魂七魄; that is, "three hun and seven po". The historian Yü Ying-shih describes hun and po as "two pivotal concepts that have been, and remain today, the key to understanding Chinese views of the human soul and the afterlife."</a>"</p>

<p>4) If you know the <a href="http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Narutopedia" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Naruto story</a>, the author also used the similar idea of 陰 Yin side and 陽 Yang side of souls as the two dual souls of the <a href="http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Kurama" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Nine Tail beast</a>. See also the <a href="http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Yin%E2%80%93Yang_Release" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Yin-Yang release</a> and <a href="http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Nine-Tails_Chakra_Mode" rel="nofollow noreferrer">more</a>.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/2KlGy.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/2KlGy.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-02T23:09:28.490Z
谢谢你得努力！Now I have a lot more to read!
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-02T03:49:15.887Z
2018-07-02T23:40:43.013Z
2018-07-02T23:40:43.013Z
wonderich
<p>Looking up the 1992 version of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinhua_Zidian" rel="nofollow noreferrer">新华字典</a> published by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Press" rel="nofollow noreferrer">商务印书馆</a>, on page 195 and page 367 we find respectively:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>魂 hún ㄏㄨㄣˊ 旧日迷信的说法，指能离开肉体而存在的精神（(连) ~魄）：~不附体. 灵魂1.人的精神、思想方面活动的总称.2.事物的最精粹最主要的部分。</p>
<p>魄 (一) pò ㄆㄛˋ ❶ 迷信指依附形体而存在的精神（(连) 魂~）：丢魂落~. [...]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Therefore, 魂 refers to the 精神 that can exist without a living body, while 魄 refers to the 精神 whose existence depends on a living body.  Because they are two different kinds of 精神, they are sometimes used together, as in 魂魄 to mean all sorts of 精神.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-02T23:28:06.573Z
So, maybe the West has just forgotten this distinction. 魂 soul: 能离开肉体而存在 spirit: 依附形体而存在. Reminds me of pulse, 诊脉. In the West we only know 1 pulse, 我听说中医认识3个诊脉。
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-02T03:48:16.653Z
2018-07-02T03:48:16.653Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Frenzy Li
<p>魂, as most agreed, refer to Soul. But 魄 , there is no english equivalent word to it. But the closest term, in my opinion, is Life Energy or Life Force. 魄 (Life Force) is also responsible for the manifestication of your physical body. You need both for a human to be completed. An entity with  魂(soul) but no 魄 (Life Force/body) can refer to as a ghost. An entity with 魄 (Life Force/body) but no 魂(soul) can become a zombie or in a vegetative state.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-05-09T11:05:46.947Z
2020-05-09T11:05:46.947Z
Sky Lee
<p>Maybe this is a religious technical question and therefore a bit tricky. In English, soul and spirit are used more or less interchangeably, although their origins are dissimilar.</p>

<p>spirit: mid-13c., "animating or vital principle in man and animals," from Anglo-French spirit, Old French espirit "spirit, soul" (12c., Modern French esprit) and directly from Latin spiritus "a breathing (respiration, and of the wind), breath; breath of a god,"</p>

<p>soul:"A substantial entity believed to be that in each person which lives, feels, thinks and wills" [Century Dictionary], Old English sawol "spiritual and emotional part of a person, </p>

<p>In Chinese, is there a difference between 魂 and 魄？</p>

<p>魂: soul, spirit (We have 3)
 魄: soul, spirit (we have 7)</p>

<p>道家谓人有三魂</p>

<p>三魂：1.道家谓人有三魂：一曰胎光，二曰爽灵，三曰幽精，见《云笈七签》卷五十四。</p>

<p>道家谓人有七魄：</p>

<p>七魄：1.道家谓人有七魄，各有名目。第一魄名尸狗，第二魄名伏矢，第三魄名雀阴，第四魄名吞贼，第五魄名非毒，第六魄名除秽，第七魄名臭肺，见《云笈七签》卷五四。</p>

<p>Just got this phrase from reading 西游记：道士吓得三魂丢了七魄 which I would simply translate as 'very frightened, scared witless, frightened out of his mind'</p>

<meaning>
What is the difference between 魂 and 魄?
# What is the difference between 魂 and 魄?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-02)

Maybe this is a religious technical question and therefore a bit tricky. In English, soul and spirit are used more or less interchangeably, although their origins are dissimilar.

spirit: mid-13c., "animating or vital principle in man and animals," from Anglo-French spirit, Old French espirit "spirit, soul" (12c., Modern French esprit) and directly from Latin spiritus "a breathing (respiration, and of the wind), breath; breath of a god,"

soul:"A substantial entity believed to be that in each person which lives, feels, thinks and wills" [Century Dictionary], Old English sawol "spiritual and emotional part of a person,

In Chinese, is there a difference between 魂 and 魄？

魂: soul, spirit (We have 3)
魄: soul, spirit (we have 7)

道家谓人有三魂

三魂：1.道家谓人有三魂：一曰胎光，二曰爽灵，三曰幽精，见《云笈七签》卷五十四。

道家谓人有七魄：

七魄：1.道家谓人有七魄，各有名目。第一魄名尸狗，第二魄名伏矢，第三魄名雀阴，第四魄名吞贼，第五魄名非毒，第六魄名除秽，第七魄名臭肺，见《云笈七签》卷五四。

Just got this phrase from reading 西游记：道士吓得三魂丢了七魄 which I would simply translate as 'very frightened, scared witless, frightened out of his mind'

**Tags:** meaning

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-07-02. Score: 5

This question is more advanced.

--

In short,

魂 is more related to the 陽 Yang side (the male, the bright, the sun side) of the spirit or soul.

魄 is more related to the 陰 Yin side (the female, the dark, the moon side) of the spirit or soul.

--

You may find the following texts valuable.

1) [道教原始的生命观认为，魂和魄一个属阴，一个属阳，一个主静，一个主动。阳魂就是思想，主动，是注意力，是对身体接触到外世界之后的第一反映，阴魄就是不变化的本源，主静，是对思想的承载，是一切万有的实质和内含。宇宙天地万物的总依赖。所以魂和魄之中，阴魄是体，阳魂为用。-- from www.zhihu.com/](https://www.zhihu.com/question/23474694)

2) [在中國哲學之中，魂魄陰陽對反，魂為陽性精氣，魄為陰性精氣](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AD%82%E9%AD%84)

3) "Within this ancient soul dualism tradition, every living human has both a hun spiritual, ethereal, yang soul which leaves the body after death, and also a po corporeal, substantive, yin soul which remains with the corpse of the deceased. Some controversy exists over the number of souls in a person; for instance, one of the traditions within [Daoism proposes a soul structure of sanhunqipo 三魂七魄; that is, "three hun and seven po". The historian Yü Ying-shih describes hun and po as "two pivotal concepts that have been, and remain today, the key to understanding Chinese views of the human soul and the afterlife."](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hun_and_po)"

4) If you know the [Naruto story](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Narutopedia), the author also used the similar idea of 陰 Yin side and 陽 Yang side of souls as the two dual souls of the [Nine Tail beast](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Kurama). See also the [Yin-Yang release](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Yin%E2%80%93Yang_Release) and [more](http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Nine-Tails_Chakra_Mode).

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/2KlGy.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/2KlGy.jpg)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: 谢谢你得努力！Now I have a lot more to read!  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-07-02. Score: 2

Looking up the 1992 version of the [新华字典](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xinhua_Zidian) published by the [商务印书馆](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_Press), on page 195 and page 367 we find respectively:

> 魂 hún ㄏㄨㄣˊ 旧日迷信的说法，指能离开肉体而存在的精神（(连) ~魄）：~不附体. 灵魂1.人的精神、思想方面活动的总称.2.事物的最精粹最主要的部分。
>
> 魄 (一) pò ㄆㄛˋ ❶ 迷信指依附形体而存在的精神（(连) 魂~）：丢魂落~. [...]

Therefore, 魂 refers to the 精神 that can exist without a living body, while 魄 refers to the 精神 whose existence depends on a living body. Because they are two different kinds of 精神, they are sometimes used together, as in 魂魄 to mean all sorts of 精神.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: So, maybe the West has just forgotten this distinction. 魂 soul: 能离开肉体而存在 spirit: 依附形体而存在. Reminds me of pulse, 诊脉. In the West we only know 1 pulse, 我听说中医认识3个诊脉。  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-05-09. Score: 1

魂, as most agreed, refer to Soul. But 魄 , there is no english equivalent word to it. But the closest term, in my opinion, is Life Energy or Life Force. 魄 (Life Force) is also responsible for the manifestication of your physical body. You need both for a human to be completed. An entity with 魂(soul) but no 魄 (Life Force/body) can refer to as a ghost. An entity with 魄 (Life Force/body) but no 魂(soul) can become a zombie or in a vegetative state.


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