株式会社

See also: 株式會社

㍿ U+337F, ㍿ SQUARE CORPORATION ← ㍾ [U+337E] CJK Compatibility ㎀ → [U+3380]

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 株式会社 – see 株式會社 (“kabushiki gaisha”). (This term is the simplified form of 株式會社).

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Japanese

Kanji in this term
株	式	会	社
かぶ Grade: 6	しき Grade: 3	かい > がい Grade: 2	しゃ Grade: 2
kun'yomi	goon	kan'on

Alternative spelling
株式會社 (kyūjitai)

Kanji in this term
株	式	会	社
かぶ Grade: 6	しき Grade: 3	かい Grade: 2	しゃ Grade: 2
kun'yomi	goon	kan'on

Alternative spelling
株式會社 (kyūjitai)

Alternative forms

• (abbreviations)
  • (kumimoji) ㍿
  • ㈱
  • (in kanji) 株 (“inc.”), often within parentheses as (株)
  • (in romanized form) K.K. (K.K.)

Etymology

Compound of 株式 (kabushiki, “stock”) +‎ 会社 (gaisha, “corporation”). The kaisha changes to gaisha as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

First cited to 1891 in the novel かくれんぼ (Kakurenbo, “Hide and Seek”) by 斎藤緑雨 (Saitō Ryokuu).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) かぶしきがいしゃ [kàbúshíkígáꜜìshà] (Nakadaka – [5])
• IPA^(key): [ka̠bɯ̟ɕi̥kʲiɡa̠iɕa̠]

Noun

株(かぶ)式(しき)会(がい)社(しゃ) or 株(かぶ)式(しき)会(かい)社(しゃ) • (kabushiki gaisha or kabushiki kaisha) 

1. a type of corporation under Japanese law, analogous to an American business corporation or British public limited company [from 1891]

Usage notes

• The voiced reading kabushiki gaisha is more commonly used in Japanese, while the unvoiced reading kabushiki kaisha is more commonly used for company names and in English-language legal literature.
• It can be used both as a prefix or as a suffix.