In 'My Neighbor Totoro', what are the black soot-like spirits called?

In 'My Neighbor Totoro', the black soot-like spirits are called soot sprites.

Their Japanese name is susuwatari, meaning roughly “wandering soot.” They are also called makkuro kurosuke, or “pitch-black ones,” in Japanese usage. In the film, the Kusakabe family encounters them when moving into an old rural house near the hospital where the girls’ mother is recovering.

The spirits are tiny, dark, fuzzy creatures that scatter when the house fills with light and activity. They are not malicious ghosts; they are whimsical house spirits associated with abandoned or dusty spaces. Mei and Satsuki’s family eventually make the house feel lived-in, prompting the creatures to leave for another empty home.

A common mix-up is “dust bunnies,” which is a translation used in some English releases and a reasonable nickname, but the quiz’s stored answer is the standard English term. The same creatures also appear in 'Spirited Away', where they work in Kamaji’s boiler room.