食人魔
shírénmó
The English word "ogre" is translated into Mandarin as 食人魔 (shírénmó).
The term 食人魔 is primarily used in the context of fantasy literature, mythology and video games to describe a man-eating monster.
Meaning: brutish giant (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 食人魔 is composed of 食人 (shírén), meaning 'eat human' and 魔 (mó), meaning 'demon' or 'monster'.
How do you pronounce it?
shírénmó
Did you know?
- The character 魔 was historically influenced by the translation of the Sanskrit word 'Mara', referring to the demon who tempted Gautama Buddha. This gives the 'monster' part of 食人魔 a deep Buddhist historical root.
- The term 魔 can be used as a suffix to describe someone with an obsessive or 'demonic' level of skill in a certain field, such as a 'coding demon'. This transforms the scary meaning of 食人魔 into a compliment about expertise.
- In Chinese folklore, the role of a man-eating monster is often filled by the 饕餮 (tāotiè), a gluttonous creature from ancient myths. While 食人魔 is a modern translation for Western ogres, the 饕餮 represents the native cultural equivalent of insatiable hunger.
Examples in context
- 那个吃人魔看起来真吓人！That ogre looks really scary!
- 小孩子经常害怕妖怪。Children often fear ogres.
- 故事里的食人魔很可怕。Gùshì lǐ de shírénmó hěn kěpà.The ogre in the story is very scary.
- 这个角色是一个巨大的食人魔。Zhège juésè shì yīgè jùdà de shírénmó.This character is a huge ogre.
Example conversation
Wei and Xiaowen are talking about a children's book.
- 伟 Wei你觉得这个食人魔凶吗？Nǐ juéde zhège shírénmó xiōng ma?Do you think this ogre is fierce?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen看起来有一点，但是他不坏。Kàn qǐlái yǒu yīdiǎn, dànshì tā bù huài.He looks a little bit, but he is not bad.
- 伟 Wei晓雯，你会喜欢这个角色吗？Xiǎowén, nǐ huì xǐhuān zhège juésè ma?Xiaowen, will you like this character?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我觉得这个食人魔很可爱。Wǒ juéde zhège shírénmó hěn kě'ài.I think this ogre is very cute.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “ogre” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
