Where does “야쿠자” come from?
야쿠자 (Korean) comes from Japanese やくざ, from Japanese 九, from Old Japanese 九.
야쿠자 (Korean): yakuza
Ancestry of “야쿠자”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | やくざ | something that is worthless or useless; yakuza:... |
| 2 | Japanese | 九 | nine; ninth; the ninth |
| 3 | Old Japanese | 九 | — |