ゴキブリ

ゴキブリ

Japanese

Alternative spelling
蜚蠊

Etymology

From 御器噛り (gokikaburi), a compound of 御器 (goki, “dish”) +‎ 齧り (kaburi, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of classical verb 齧る (kaburu), “to bite, nibble”). This original form persisted up until the Meiji period.

Due to typographical errors, the か (ka) was omitted, while its original form still exists today in certain dialects. Variations of the word across dialects exist as well. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

The "Sony fanboy" sense originates from "GK", an initialism of "Gate Keeper", a proxy server used by Sony and its various companies. Overzealous Sony fans were thus referred to as "GK-buri", or "GK-esque", which was ultimately corrupted into "gokiburi".[1]

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ゴキブリ [gòkíbúrí] (Heiban – [0])[2][3]
• IPA^(key): [ɡo̞kʲibɯ̟ᵝɾʲi]

Noun

ゴキブリ or ごきぶり • (gokiburi)  (counter 匹)

1. a cockroach

   Synonyms: 油虫 (aburamushi, archaic or Kansai dialect), G (jī, slang)

2. (slang, derogatory, video games) a Sony fanboy, Sony pony

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ゴキブリ.

See also

• コックローチ (kokkurōchi)
• 芥(あくた)虫(むし) (akutamushi)
• 角(つの)虫(むし) (tsunomushi)

References

1. Brian Ashcraft (June 25, 2013), “Why Sony Fans Are Called "Cockroaches" in Japan”, in Kotaku‎, retrieved July 6, 2021
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
3. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN