Mafia vs Yakuza - What's the difference?

mafia | yakuza |


As nouns the difference between mafia and yakuza

is that mafia is a crime syndicate while yakuza is a Japanese organized crime gang.

As a proper noun Mafia

is an international criminal organization of Sicilian origin operating in Italy and the United States.

mafia

English

(wikipedia Mafia)

Alternative forms

* Maffia (less common)

Proper noun

  • (specifically) An international criminal organization of Sicilian origin operating in Italy and the United States.
  • (by extension) Any organized crime syndicate operating internationally in high-level organized crime; .
    • Somehow he managed to upset the Russian Mafia .
  • A party game modelling a conflict between an informed minority (the mafia) and an uninformed majority (the innocents). Each player is secretly assigned a role within one of these teams, and the innocents attempt to identify the mafia members before they are all "murdered".
  • (an entity which attempts to control a specified arena).

    • Synonyms

    * (organization of Sicilian origin) Cosa Nostra, mob * (any organized crime syndicate) mob

    Derived terms

    * mafia * mafia state * Mafioso * Mafiya

    See also

    * Camorra * capo * godfather * goodfella * 'Ndrangheta * * Thuggee * Triad * Yakuza ----

    yakuza

    English

    Noun

    (yakuza)
  • A Japanese organized crime gang
  • A member of a Japanese organized crime gang

    • See also

    * mafia * tong * triad ----