Where does “간자이” come from?

간자이 (Korean) comes from Korean 간장, from Korean 장, from Middle Korean 댜ᇰ, from Chinese 張.

Ancestry of “간자이”, step by step

간자이 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Korean 간장

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Korean간장soy sauce made from soybean; liver and intestine
2Korean장sauce; marmalade; jam; compote stewed fruit; preserved vegetables; preserved fruit
3Middle Korean댜ᇰ—
4Chinese張—

via Korean —이

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Korean—이For non-honorific nouns ending in consonants, the nominative case particle marking it as the subject of a verb or adjective; see also Usage Notes
2Middle Korean이person
Every word from Chinese 張 →Every word from Middle Korean 댜ᇰ →Every word from Korean 장 →