zaikai means collectively, the powerful and influential businesspeople and tycoons of Japan. It carries an Arena rating of 1415, earned across 11 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, zaikai ranks #1,536 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #3,922 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #5,299 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #7,056 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words.
zaikai is pronounced /ˈzaɪkaɪ/.
Why “zaikai” is a great word
The collective and powerful social class of Japan's most influential business leaders and industrial magnates. Borrowed from Japanese 財界 (zaikai), from 財 (zai, "money; wealth") + 界 (kai, "world, circle"). Unlike *zaibatsu*, which denotes the specific, pre-war family-controlled industrial conglomerates, or *keiretsu*, which describes the structural networks of cross-owned companies, zaikai is the human nexus of power itself. It is the murmured consensus in a private club in Marunouchi, the uniformed dark suits moving in concert through the halls of Kasumigaseki, and the quiet, collective intake of breath that can steady or sink a government—the true governance of a nation that operates not by law, but by capital.
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 財界 (zaikai, “world of money”), from 財 (zai, “money; wealth”) + 界 (kai, “world”).
noun
- Collectively, the powerful and influential businesspeople and tycoons of Japan.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- zaibatsu 62% match — A large business conglomerate founded under the Empire of Japan, generally controlled by a single family or individual. vs zaikai →
- daifugō 53% match — The name for the person in the top spot of Tycoon vs zaikai →
- sokaiya 53% match — A form of racketeer in Japan who blackmails companies by threatening to publicly humiliate their management. vs zaikai →
- keiretsu 49% match — A set of Japanese companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings. vs zaikai →
- kyodai 48% match — A high-ranking member of the yakuza, accountable to the shatei gashira. vs zaikai →
- nomikai 46% match — A Japanese drinking party for coworkers, often held in a restaurant. vs zaikai →
- kei 46% match — A class of lightweight vehicles with small engines. vs zaikai →
- chaebol 46% match — A large, family-controlled, South Korean business conglomerate. vs zaikai →