餓鬼
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餓鬼 (gaki): a traditional Japanese depiction of various hungry ghosts from a 12th-century scroll.
See also: 饿鬼
Chinese
| to be hungry; hungry | ghost; sly; crafty | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (餓鬼) | 餓 | 鬼 | |
| simp. (饿鬼) | 饿 | 鬼 | |
Etymology
The Buddhism sense is a translation of Sanskrit प्रेत (preta).
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄜˋ ㄍㄨㄟˇ
- Tongyong Pinyin: èguěi
- Wade–Giles: o4-kuei3
- Yale: è-gwěi
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ehgoei
- Palladius: эгуй (eguj)
- Sinological IPA (key): /ˀɤ⁵¹ ku̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- Homophones:
惡鬼 / 恶鬼
餓鬼 / 饿鬼
- (Standard Chinese)
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: ngo6 gwai2
- Yale: ngoh gwái
- Cantonese Pinyin: ngo6 gwai2
- Guangdong Romanization: ngo6 guei2
- Sinological IPA (key): /ŋɔː²² kʷɐi̯³⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Southern Min
- Middle Chinese: ngaH kjw+jX
Noun
餓鬼
- hungry person
- glutton; gourmand
- (derogatory) pig
- (Buddhism) hungry ghost (one of the six realms of reincarnation in Buddhist cosmology)
Derived terms
Descendants
Further reading
- Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922),
“餓鬼” in 佛學大辭典 .
Japanese
Etymology 1
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 餓 | 鬼 |
| が Grade: S |
き 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
- (Buddhism) short for 餓鬼道 (gakidō): the hungry ghost realm, one of the six realms of reincarnation in Buddhist cosmology
- (Buddhism) a preta: the spirit of a jealous or greedy person who, as punishment for mortal vices, has been cursed with insatiable hunger
- (Buddhism) the souls of the dead who languish in oblivion without any surviving relatives to pray for their peace
- (figurative) anyone who is constantly hungry or thirsty
- (figurative) anyone who is unhealthily thin and appears as if they are starving
- (archaic) Short for 餓鬼病 (gakiyami, gakibyō, “leprosy”).
- (derogatory, slang, by extension from the sense of someone who is always hungry) an unpleasant child, a brat
- 2000 August 10, Yūma Andō with Asaki, Masashi, “ＢＲＥＡＫ.39 痛恨の国光‥ [BREAK.39 When Kunimitsu Has Remorse‥]”, in サイコメトラーEIJI [Psychometrer EIJI], volume 24 (fiction), Tokyo: Kodansha, →ISBN:
- でも——可愛いですね このジンガイのガキ
- Demo—— kawaii desu ne kono jingai no gaki
- However—— this crooked brat’s pretty cute, don’t ya think
- でも——可愛いですね このジンガイのガキ
- 2000 August 10, Yūma Andō with Asaki, Masashi, “喧嘩屋 国光 [Kunimitsu, Brawl Delivery]”, in サイコメトラーEIJI [Psychometrer EIJI], volume 24 (fiction), Tokyo: Kodansha, →ISBN:
- 死ねや ガキィ〰〰‼
- Shine ya gakī~~‼
- Drop dead, you son of a bitch〰〰‼
- 死ねや ガキィ〰〰‼
Usage notes
The slang sense is often spelled in kana.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
| Kanji in this term | |
|---|---|
| 餓 | 鬼 |
| が 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
- (derogatory, slang, dated) an unpleasant child, a brat
Usage notes
Often spelled in kana.
References
Korean
| Hanja in this term | |
|---|---|
| 餓 | 鬼 |
Noun
Vietnamese
| chữ Hán Nôm in this term | |
|---|---|
| 餓 | 鬼 |
Noun
餓鬼