閥(ばつ)

ばつ
noun, suffix
clique; faction; power group
writtenpoliticssociety
1. clique; faction; power group; influential circle
A group of people connected by shared background, school, region, or family ties who exercise collective influence, especially in politics, business, or academia. Often carries a negative connotation of exclusivity and cronyism.
学閥(がくばつ)が強(つよ)い会社(かいしゃ)だ。
It's a company where school-based factions are powerful.
派閥(はばつ)政治(せいじ)は日本(にほん)の政界(せいかい)の特徴(とくちょう)の一(ひと)つだ。
Factional politics is one of the features of the Japanese political world.
閥(ばつ)を作(つく)って人事(じんじ)を支配(しはい)するのは問題(もんだい)だ。
It is problematic to form cliques and control personnel decisions.

A single-kanji word meaning 'clique' or 'faction,' most commonly encountered as a suffix forming compound nouns that name specific types of influential groups.

Usage

  • Rarely used alone in modern Japanese. Overwhelmingly appears as a suffix in compounds:
  • 学閥(がくばつ): university-based clique (alumni from the same prestigious university favoring each other)
  • 派閥(はばつ): political faction (subgroups within a party)
  • 財閥(ざいばつ): industrial/financial conglomerate (historically, the great family-owned business groups like Mitsubishi and Mitsui)
  • 軍閥(ぐんばつ): military clique
  • 閨閥(けいばつ): marriage-based power network
  • The word generally implies that group loyalty overrides merit — promotions, contracts, and favors flow along 閥(ばつ) lines.

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 派閥(はばつ): faction — the most common compound, specifically for political factions within a party
  • 財閥(ざいばつ): zaibatsu — Japan's historic family-run industrial conglomerates, a widely known term even in English
  • 党派(とうは): party faction — a more neutral term for a group within a political party
  • 一派(いっぱ): group; school; faction — a group united by a common leader or ideology

Related Words

Compare: 党派(とうは) (party faction)
Compare: 一派(いっぱ) (group)
general
Added 2026.4.19 0:19 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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