mou4 zyu2 gu1 wan4無主孤魂无主孤魂
Jyutpingmou4 zyu2 gu1 wan4
Yalemòuh jyú gū wàhn
Definition
Wandering souls or spirits with no living relatives to make offerings to them.
colloquialpeopleother
How it's used
Refers specifically to spirits who have no descendants to perform ancestral rites or offer food. It carries a sense of pity and is often associated with the Hungry Ghost Festival when people burn paper offerings to appease these neglected entities. The term is rarely used in casual conversation unless discussing folklore, ghost stories, or religious customs.
Examples
This place used to be a mass grave, there are many wandering souls here.
Remember to burn some offerings for the wandering souls during the seventh lunar month.
Related words
Common phrases
to offer sacrifices to wandering souls
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
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- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).



