What does ψυχικός (psychikós) mean in the Bible?
ψυχικός (psychikós): Describes humanity operating from soulish nature alone, opposed to Spirit-empowered spiritual maturity.
Greek · G5591
ψυχικός
Natural
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ψυχικόςG5591
Pronunciationpsychikós
What does ψυχικός (psychikós) mean in the Bible?
ψυχικός (psychikós): Describes humanity operating from soulish nature alone, opposed to Spirit-empowered spiritual maturity.
Full entry for ψυχικός (G5591) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5591?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include a natural (2), [The] natural (1), [who are] worldly (1), natural (1), unspiritual (1).
Where does ψυχικός (psychikós) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Corinthians 2:14. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Corinthians (4), James (1), Jude (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ita natural2×1 Corinthians 15:44
[The] natural1×1 Corinthians 2:14
[who are] worldly1×Jude 1:19
natural1×1 Corinthians 15:46
unspiritual1×James 3:15
Show sample aligned rows
1 Corinthians 2:14Ψυχικὸςto[The] naturalAdjective - Nominative Masculine Singular1 Corinthians 15:44ψυχικόνtoa naturalAdjective - Nominative Neuter Singular1 Corinthians 15:44ψυχικόνtoa naturalAdjective - Nominative Neuter Singular1 Corinthians 15:46ψυχικόνtonaturalAdjective - Nominative Neuter SingularJames 3:15ψυχικήtounspiritualAdjective - Nominative Feminine SingularJude 1:19ψυχικοίto[who are] worldlyAdjective - Nominative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row1 Corinthians 2:14
Aligned rows6
Books represented3
1 Corinthians4James1Jude1
Source forms
ψυχικόν3xpsychikon1 Corinthians 15:44, 1 Corinthians 15:46
ψυχική1xpsychikēJames 3:15
ψυχικοί1xpsychikoiJude 1:19
Ψυχικὸς1xPsychikos1 Corinthians 2:14
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Nominative Neuter Singular3x1 Corinthians 15:44, 1 Corinthians 15:46
Adjective - Nominative Feminine Singular1xJames 3:15
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural1xJude 1:19
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular1x1 Corinthians 2:14
Greek word. Describes humanity operating from soulish nature alone, opposed to Spirit-empowered spiritual maturity.
Strong'sG5591
Lexical occurrences6 versesGreek text appearances6 timesWord forms4 forms6 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkJude 1:17–19Source Gloss
natural
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Describes humanity operating from soulish nature alone, opposed to Spirit-empowered spiritual maturity.
(ψυχή) [in LXX: 4Ma.1:32 * ;] of the ψυχή (as the lower part of the immaterial in man), EV, natural: opposite to πνευματικός, 1Co.2:14 15:44 15:46; πνεῦμα μὴ ἔχοντες (EV, sensual; R, mg., natural or animal; better perhaps, of the mind; see infr.), Ju 19; with ἐπίγειος, δαιμονιώδης, opposite to ἄνωθεν κατερχομένη (σοψία), of the mind (Hort, in l), Jas.3:15
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
1 Corinthians 2:14Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
ψυχικὸςyucikov
animal, natural, sensuous
Read verse1 Corinthians 15:44Adjective Nominative Singular Neuter
ψυχικόν,yucikon
animal, natural, sensuous
Read verse1 Corinthians 15:44Adjective Nominative Singular Neuter
ψυχικόν,yucikon
animal, natural, sensuous
Read verse1 Corinthians 15:46Adjective Nominative Singular Neuter
ψυχικόν,yucikon
animal, natural, sensuous
Read verseJames 3:15Adjective Nominative Singular Feminine
ψυχική,yucikh
animal, natural, sensuous
Read verseJude 1:19Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
ψυχικοί,yucikoi
animal, natural, sensuous
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 4 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns4Aligned forms6Case patternNominative (6)Number patternSingular (5)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Neuter1 Cor 15:44 · 1 Cor 15:463×
Nominative · Singular · Masculine1 Cor 2:141×
Nominative · Singular · FeminineJas 3:151×
Nominative · Plural · MasculineJude 1:191×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
natural, unspiritual
Showing 1 selected witness from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ψυχικός is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Indicates absence of the Holy Spirit’s transforming presence.Jude 1:17–19
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.