참별고기

Korean

Alternative forms

• ᄎᆞᆷ별고긔 (chambyeolgogi) — Early Modern

Etymology

Unknown.

Seems to be 참 (cham, “genuine”) +‎ 별(別) (“especial”) +‎ 고기 (gogi, “fish”)? Perhaps invented by the translator for some unknown reason, or a short-lived slang word that was fortuitously recorded in this work.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕʰa̠mbjʌ̹ɭɡo̞ɡi]
• Phonetic hangul: [참별고기]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization?	chambyeolgogi
Revised Romanization (translit.)?	chambyeolgogi
McCune–Reischauer?	ch'ambyŏlgogi
Yale Romanization?	champyel.koki

Noun

참별고기 • (chambyeolgogi)

1. (late nineteenth century, obsolete, only attested in one text) fish

   Synonym: 물고기 (mulgogi)

   • c. 1880, 계명대 소장본 『셔유긔』 (Gyemyeongdae sojangbon Syeoyugui) [a Korean translation of Journey to the West, Keimyung University manuscript], volume 2, page 80:6:

     ᄃᆡ셩이 변ᄒᆞ여 참별고기 되여 순이 물결을 죳ᄎᆞ 노드니

     daesyeong-i byeonhayeo chambyeolgogi doeyeo suni mulgyeor-eul jotcha nodeuni

     The Great Sage transformed himself into a fish and frolicked, following the currents.

Usage notes

This term is only attested in a late nineteenth-century translation of the Chinese novel Journey to the West, as a translation of Mandarin 魚兒 / 鱼儿 (yú'ér, “(little) fish”).