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Yuki-onna

Folklore
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Japanese snow woman ghost who freezes wanderers with beauty and breath, sparing kind souls, symbolizing winter's seduction.

Detailed Definition
Yuki-onna, from yokai tales, pale spirit in blizzards, embodying lethal allure. Literature chills it in Lafcadio Hearn. In poetry, she breathes Yosano Akiko's winters; poets freeze for temptation motifs, appearing in haiku as icy kiss, enriching seasonal verse with fatal femininity.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Japanese yokai poetry, Yuki-onna's snow breath freezes lovers; Lafcadio Hearn's tales poeticize her icy kiss; A winter haiku melts Yuki-onna's gaze; Folklore teaches her mountain peril; Contemporary cli-fi adapts Yuki-onna for blizzards; Ballads sing her pale allure.
Additional Notes
Yuki-onna, "snow woman" breath-freezer, beauty traps; Hearn's ghostly kisses; tips: pale allure for seduction; related: yuki-oni or banshee; Japanese context: winter fatalism, for yokai romance.
Also Known As
Snow Woman
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