餓鬼

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

  (Pinyin): èguǐ

  (Zhuyin): ㄜˋ ㄍㄨㄟˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ngo⁶ gwai²
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): gō-kúi

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: èguǐ
    • 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:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 惡鬼 / 恶鬼 餓鬼 / 饿鬼

• 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/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gō-kúi
    • Tâi-lô: gō-kuí
    • Phofsit Daibuun: goixkuie
    • IPA (Xiamen): /ɡo²²⁻²¹ kui⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /ɡo⁴¹⁻²² kui⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ɡo²²⁻²¹ kui⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /ɡo³³⁻¹¹ kui⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɡɤ³³⁻²¹ kui⁴¹/

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• Middle Chinese: ngaH kjw+jX

Rime
Character	餓	鬼
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	疑 (31)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	歌 (94)	微 (21)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open	Closed
Division (等)	I	III
Fanqie	五个切	居偉切
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/
Bernhard 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

• 施餓鬼 / 施饿鬼
• 色中餓鬼 / 色中饿鬼

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (餓鬼):

• → Japanese: 餓(が)鬼(き) (gaki)
• → Korean: 아귀(餓鬼) (agwi)
• → Vietnamese: ngạ quỷ (餓鬼)

Further reading

• Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922), “餓鬼” in 佛學大辭典 [A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms].

Japanese

Etymology 1

餓鬼 (gaki): a traditional Japanese depiction of various hungry ghosts from a 12th-century scroll.

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

• (Tokyo) がき [gàkíꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
• (Tokyo) がき [gáꜜkì] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɡa̠kʲi]

Noun

餓(が)鬼(き) 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
   • 2000 August 10, Yūma Andō with Asaki, Masashi, “ＢＲＥＡＫ(ブレイク).39　痛(つう)恨(こん)の国(くに)光(みつ)‥ [BREAK.39 When Kunimitsu Has Remorse‥]”, in サイコメトラーEIJI(エイジ) [Psychometrer EIJI], volume 24 (fiction), Tokyo: Kodansha, →ISBN:

     でも——可(か)愛(わい)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

   • 2000 August 10, Yūma Andō with Asaki, Masashi, “喧(けん)嘩(か)屋(や)　国(くに)光(みつ) [Kunimitsu, Brawl Delivery]”, in サイコメトラーEIJI(エイジ) [Psychometrer EIJI], volume 24 (fiction), Tokyo: Kodansha, →ISBN:

     死(し)ねや　ガキィ〰〰‼

     Shine ya gakī~~‼

     Drop dead, you son of a bitch〰〰‼

Usage notes

The slang sense is often spelled in kana.

Derived terms

• ガキ大(だい)将(しょう) (gakidaishō)
• 糞(くそ)餓(が)鬼(き) (kusogaki)
• メスガキ (mesugaki)

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

• IPA^(key): [ɡa̠k̚ʲkʲi]

Noun

餓(が)鬼(っき) • (gakki) 

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

Usage notes

Often spelled in kana.

Korean

Hanja in this term
餓	鬼

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
餓	鬼

Noun

餓鬼

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