Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word 게. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word 게, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say 게 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word 게 you have here. The definition of the word 게 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of게, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
First attested in the Gugeupbang eonhae (救急方諺解 / 구급방언해), 1466, as Middle Korean게〯 (Yale: kěy).
Middle Korean rising pitch implies an earlier bisyllabic form; Japanese蟹(kani) is a possible parallel.
Consider also Pyongan Korean궝이(gwong'i, “crab”) and Jeju깅이(ging'i, “crab”), although both could be secondary developments because Koreanic varieties sometimes insert /ŋ/ to break hiatus between vowels.
For many contemporary Seoul speakers, this word is homophonous with 개(gae, “dog”). Speakers may resort to circumlocutions in ambiguous situations, e.g. 멍멍개(meongmeong gae, “dog that goes meong-meong”) or '꽃게' 할때 게(kkotge hal ttae ge, “'crab' as in 'horse crab'”).
