ゴキカブリ

also: ごっかぶり · ごきかぶろう

ゴ

キ

カ

ブ

リ

Meanings

noun

cockroach

archaicusually written using kana alone

Archaic word for cockroach; replaced by ゴキブリ in modern Japanese. Found in older texts or used for stylistic effect.

Kanji

御honorable, manipulate, govern
器utensil, vessel, receptacle
噛chew, bite, gnaw

Related words

ゴキブリ
Modern standard word for cockroach; ゴキカブリ is its archaic predecessor.

Written forms

ごきかぶり
Hiragana spelling; also acceptable but less common than katakana.
御器噛
- ごきかぶり
  Ateji kanji spelling; rarely used and mainly of historical interest.
- ごきかぶろう
  Ateji kanji spelling with alternate reading ごきかぶろう; very rare.
- ごっかぶり
御器噛り
- ごきかぶり
  Ateji kanji spelling with okurigana; rarely used.
- ごっかぶり
ごっかぶり
Alternate reading variant; less common.
ごきかぶろう

Etymology

An older form of ゴキブリ, traditionally written 御器被り and interpreted as “one that frequents or covers food vessels.” ゴキブリ developed through contraction of ゴキカブリ.