やくざ

See also: やくざい

Japanese

Alternative forms

Etymology

Literally 8-9-3. From a three-card gambling game in which the worst hand is 八 (ya, “8”), 九 (ku, “9”), and 三 (sa, “3”).

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) や​くざ [yáꜜkùzà] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
  • IPA(key): [ja̠kɯ̟ᵝza̠]

Adjective

やくざ • (yakuza) -na, adnominal やくざな (yakuza na), adverbial やくざに (yakuza ni)

  1. worthless, useless

Noun

やくざ • (yakuza) 

  1. something that is worthless or useless
  2. yakuza: Japanese organized crime gang, or a member of one

Descendants
  • → English: yakuza
  • → Finnish: yakuza
  • → French: yakuza
  • → Korean: 야쿠자 (yakuja)
  • → Polish: yakuza, jakuza
  • → Russian: яку́дза (jakúdza)
  • → Spanish: yakuza

References
  1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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