물고기

Korean

Etymology

First attested in the Gugeupganibang eonhae (救急簡易方諺解 / 구급간이방언해), 1489, as Middle Korean 믌〮고기〮 (Yale: múl-s kwòkí).

물 (mul, “water”) +‎ -ㅅ- (-s-, genitive interfix; omitted from the spelling, but this causes the tense phonation of the following consonant) +‎ 고기 (gogi, “fish”).

Pronunciation

(SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [muɭk͈o̞ɡi]
Phonetic hangul: [물꼬기]

Romanizations
Revised Romanization^?	mulgogi
Revised Romanization (translit.)^?	mulgogi
McCune–Reischauer^?	mulkogi
Yale Romanization^?	mulqkoki

Noun

물고기 • (mulgogi)

fish (as living animals)
Synonyms: 고기 (gogi), (formal) 어류(魚類) (eoryu)

Usage notes

"Fish" as meat/food is not called 물고기 (mulgogi), but 생선 (生鮮, saengseon).

Alternative forms

믉고기 (meulgogi), 믌고기 (meulgogi) — Early Modern
뭀고기 (mulgogi) — etymological

Derived terms

물고기떡 (mulgogitteok, “fishcake”)
물고기자리 (mulgogijari, “Pisces”)
민물고기 (minmulgogi, “fresh water fish”)
잔물고기 (janmulgogi)