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財閥 (ざいばつ) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Common word JLPT N1 Freq. Frequency Top 20,000 Meanings 1
noun
zaibatsu ; financial conglomerate ; industrial group
historical term
Historical term especially associated with large, often family-controlled Japanese financial and industrial groups before and around the prewar period; also used in discussion of such conglomerates as a historical institution.
戦せん 後ご 、 財ざい 閥ばつ の 解かい 体たい が 進すす め られ た 。
After the war, the dismantling of the zaibatsu was carried out.
2
noun
rich person
colloquial
Colloquial, somewhat joking use for someone who seems very rich; this is much less formal than the historical/economic sense.
Written forms 財ざい 閥ばつ Usage 100%
Standard kanji spelling; this is the only written form.
ザイバツ Usage <1%
Kanji 閥 clique, lineage, pedigree Similar words 金かね 持も ち Everyday word for a rich person; 財閥 in the colloquial sense sounds more joking or exaggerated.
企き 業ぎょう グループ A general modern term for a corporate group; 財閥 specifically evokes historical zaibatsu and concentrated financial-industrial power.
財ざい 界かい Refers to the business or financial world as a social sphere, not to a particular conglomerate or rich person.
Etymology A Sino-Japanese compound written with 財, 'wealth; assets,' and 閥, 'clique; faction.' This component explanation is useful for meaning, though it is not a detailed historical derivation.
