餓鬼

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See also: 饿鬼

Chinese

to be hungry; hungry ghost; sly; crafty
trad. (餓鬼)
simp. (饿鬼) 饿

Etymology

The Buddhism sense is a translation of Sanskrit प्रेत (preta).

Pronunciation



Rime
Character
Reading # 1/1 1/1
Initial () (31) (28)
Final () (94) (21)
Tone (調) Departing (H) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Open Closed
Division () I III
Fanqie
Baxter ngaH kjw+jX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/ŋɑH/ /kʉiX/
Pan
Wuyun
/ŋɑH/ /kʷɨiX/
Shao
Rongfen
/ŋɑH/ /kiuəiX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/ŋaH/ /kujX/
Li
Rong
/ŋɑH/ /kiuəiX/
Wang
Li
/ŋɑH/ /kĭwəiX/
Bernard
Karlgren
/ŋɑH/ /kwe̯iX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
è guǐ
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
ngo6 gwai2

Noun

餓鬼

  1. hungry person
  2. glutton; gourmand
  3. (derogatory) pig
  4. (Buddhism) hungry ghost (one of the six realms of reincarnation in Buddhist cosmology)

Derived terms

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (餓鬼):

Further reading

Japanese

Etymology 1

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ja
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
餓鬼 (gaki): a traditional Japanese depiction of various hungry ghosts from a 12th-century scroll.
Kanji in this term

Grade: S

Grade: S
on'yomi

Borrowing from Middle Chinese compound 餓鬼 (MC ngaH kjw+jX, “hungry + ghost”). Compare modern Min Nan reading gō-kúi. The Chinese term derives from the importation of Buddhism into China, as a translation of Sanskrit प्रेत (preta).

Pronunciation

Noun

()() or 餓鬼(ガキ) (gaki

  1. (Buddhism) short for 餓鬼道 (gakidō): the hungry ghost realm, one of the six realms of reincarnation in Buddhist cosmology
  2. (Buddhism) a preta: the spirit of a jealous or greedy person who, as punishment for mortal vices, has been cursed with insatiable hunger
  3. (Buddhism) the souls of the dead who languish in oblivion without any surviving relatives to pray for their peace
  4. (figurative) anyone who is constantly hungry or thirsty
  5. (figurative) anyone who is unhealthily thin and appears as if they are starving
  6. (archaic) Short for 餓鬼病 (gakiyami, gakibyō, leprosy).
  7. (derogatory, slang, by extension from the sense of someone who is always hungry) an unpleasant child, a brat
Usage notes

The slang sense is often spelled in kana.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term

Grade: S
き > っき
Grade: S
on'yomi irregular
Alternative spelling
餓っ鬼

Shift in pronunciation of gaki above. Gemination is a common form of emphasis in the process of Japanese word formation. The meaning of brat is by extension from the original sense of gaki above, referring to someone who is always hungry.

Pronunciation

Noun

()(っき) (gakki

  1. (derogatory, slang, dated) an unpleasant child, a brat
Usage notes

Often spelled in kana.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja in this term

Noun

餓鬼 (agwi) (hangeul 아귀)

  1. Hanja form? of 아귀 ((literally: "hungry ghost") a ravenous or voracious person).

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term

Noun

餓鬼

  1. chữ Hán form of ngạ quỷ ((Buddhism) preta).