餓鬼

The Buddhism sense is a translation of Sanskrit प्रेत (preta).

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)

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

Borrowing from Middle Chinese compound 餓鬼 (MC ŋɑ^H kʉi^X, “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).

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

餓(が)鬼(き) • (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, Andō, Yūma; 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, Andō, Yūma; 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〰〰‼

The slang sense is often spelled in kana.

• ガキ大将(だいしょう) (gakidaishō)

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.

• 餓っ鬼

• IPA^(key): [ɡa̠k̚ʲkʲi]

餓(が)鬼(っき) • (gakki) 

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

Often spelled in kana.

餓鬼 • (agwi) (hangeul 아귀)

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

餓鬼

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