親分

Japanese

Kanji in this term
親	分
おや Grade: 2	ぶん Grade: 2
yutōyomi

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) おやぶん [óꜜyàbùǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• (Tokyo) おやぶん [òyáꜜbùǹ] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [o̞ja̠bɯ̟̃ɴ]

Noun

親(おや)分(ぶん) • (oyabun) 

1. boss; father figure

   Antonym: 子分 (kobun)

2. a foster parent, a temporary adoptive parent

   Synonym: 仮親 (karioya)

Usage notes

This word is traditionally used by yakuza members to describe their boss or Godfather.

Synonyms

• (boss): ボス (bosu)

Descendants

• → Korean: 오야붕 (oyabung, “oyabun”)

See also

• おやびん (oyabin)
• 侠客(きょうかく) (kyōkaku)

References

• “親分”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026