八つ
やっつ · yattsu · JLPT N5 · noun
eight (things)
🐙 八つ = ya (native eight) + doubled tsu counter: yattsu
Native Japanese counting adds the generic counter つ to an old number root. Eight is ya, and the small っ doubles the t, giving yattsu. The same ya shows up in 八百屋 (yaoya, greengrocer). An octopus has eight arms: yattsu.
八 — two strokes diverging outward
Originally a pictograph of two lines splitting apart, meaning 'to divide' or 'separate.' It was later borrowed phonetically to write the number eight, and this borrowed numerical sense became dominant. The original 'divide' meaning survives in compounds like 分.