Chinese

Noun

餓鬼

1. hungry person
2. (derogatory) pig
3. (Buddhism) hungry ghost; one of the six realms of reincarnation in Buddhist cosmology
4. the spirit of a jealous or greedy person who, as punishment for mortal vices, has been cursed with an insatiable hunger

Japanese

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese compound 餓鬼 ‎(nga^H kjwɨj^X, literally “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

• On'yomi: Goon
• (Tokyo) がき​ [gàkíꜜ] (Odaka - [2])^[1]
• (Tokyo) が​き [gáꜜkì] (Atamadaka - [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ɡa̠kʲi]

Noun

餓鬼 ‎(hiragana がき, romaji 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. (figuratively) anyone who is constantly hungry or thirsty
5. (figuratively) anyone who is unhealthily thin and appears as if they are starving
6. (pejorative, slang, by extension from the sense of someone who is always hungry) an unpleasant child, a brat
7. (archaic) short for 餓鬼病 ‎(gakiyami, gakibyō): leprosy

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

• (Irregular reading)
• IPA^(key): [ɡa̠k̚kʲi]

Alternative forms

• 餓っ鬼

Noun

餓鬼 ‎(hiragana がっき, romaji gakki)

1. (pejorative, slang) an unpleasant child, a brat

Usage notes

Often spelled in hiragana.

References

1. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9

Korean

Noun

餓鬼 • ‎(agwi) ‎(hangeul 아귀)

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