Where does “八十八” come from?

八十八 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 八, from Middle Chinese 八.

八十八 (Japanese): eighty-eight

Definitions

  1. eighty-eight

Ancestry of “八十八”, step by step

八十八 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 八

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese八eight, 8; eight; Short for 八の字
2Middle Chinese八—

via Japanese 八十

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese八十eighty; 80
Every word from Middle Chinese 八 →Every word from Japanese 八 →