倶楽部

See also: 俱樂部 and 俱乐部

Japanese

Kanji in this term
倶	楽	部
く Hyōgai (ateji)	らく > ら Grade: 2 (ateji)	ぶ Grade: 3 (ateji)
on'yomi

Alternative spellings
倶樂部 (kyūjitai) 俱楽部

Etymology

Borrowed from English club, in reference to an association or group of people.^[1]^[2]

The spelling is ateji (当て字), apparently from the early Meiji era, chosen for the senses of 倶(く) (ku, on'yomi; also a kun'yomi of tomo as in “together”) + 楽(ら) (ra, irregular on'yomi, usually raku; also a kun'yomi of tanoshimu as in “to enjoy”) + 部(ぶ) (bu, “part; division; section; department”, imparting a sense of “smaller group of people”).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) クラブ [kúꜜràbù] (Atamadaka – [1])^[2]
IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ɾa̠bɯ̟]

Noun

倶楽部(クラブ) • (kurabu)

a club (as an association or group of people)
タモリ倶楽部(クラブ)
tamori kurabu
Tamori Club

Usage notes

More commonly spelled in katakana, as クラブ.

Descendants

→ Chinese: 俱樂部／俱乐部 (jùlèbù)
→ Korean: 구락부 (gurakbu)
→ Vietnamese: câu lạc bộ

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[KDJ-1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[1]

[2]