Kami vs. Rendaku — What's the Difference?

Kami (Japanese: 神, [kaꜜmi]) (often taken to mean "gods", though the concept is more involved than that) are the spirits, phenomena or "holy powers" that are venerated in the religion of Shinto. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, as well as beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the spirits of venerated dead people.

Rendaku (連濁, Japanese pronunciation: [ɾendakɯ], lit. "sequential voicing") is a phenomenon in Japanese morphophonology that governs the voicing of the initial consonant of a non-initial portion of a compound or prefixed word.

Any of the sacred beings worshiped in Shintoism, conceived as spirits abiding in natural phenomena and sometimes in people with extraordinary qualities.

(linguistics) In the Japanese language, a phenomenon which governs the voicing of the initial consonant of the non-initial portion of a compound or prefixed word. An example is 時々 (ときどき, tokidoki), where the second, iterative element "-toki" becomes "-doki" and 折り紙 (おりがみ, origami) where the word 紙 (かみ, kami; paper) becomes "gami".

An animistic God or spirit in the Shinto religion of Japan.

(philosophy) The metaphysical causal generator of motion, life, or divinish aura.

(papercraft) A basic origami paper, usually printed with a colour or pattern on one side.

A title given to the celestial gods of the first mythical dynasty of Japan and extended to the demigods of the second dynasty, and then to the long line of spiritual princes still represented by the mikado.

One the Shinto deities (including mythological beings, spirits of distinguished men, forces of nature)