鬼 guǐ ghost
ghost; crafty
How it came to be
A kneeling figure with a huge square head, a mask rather than a face. It is a person dressed as the dead at a rite, the closest anybody came to drawing a ghost.
How it is used
- Ghost - 鬼故事 (guǐ gùshi) ghost story; but hugely productive as a suffix labeling a type of person, usually with a wink or scorn: 胆小鬼 (dǎnxiǎoguǐ) coward, 酒鬼 (jiǔguǐ) drunkard, 小气鬼 (xiǎoqìguǐ) cheapskate.
- Also 'sneaky/clever tricks': 搞鬼 (gǎoguǐ) to play dirty tricks, 鬼点子 (guǐ diǎnzi) a crafty idea, 机灵鬼 (jīlingguǐ) a clever little rascal (affectionate).
- 鬼 can even act as an intensifier of unpleasantness: 鬼天气 (guǐ tiānqì) lousy weather. Very colloquial.