infantry; infantryman; foot soldier
Military term for ground troops who fight on foot. Can refer to the branch or an individual soldier.
He was assigned as an infantryman in the army.
The infantry unit deployed to the front line.
They stationed infantry along the front line.
He fought as an infantryman.
The commander deployed additional infantry.
騎兵 (cavalry) fights on horseback, the direct opposite of 歩兵 (infantry), who fight on foot.
歩兵 (ほへい) and 砲兵 (ほうへい) sound alike but refer to different military branches: infantry versus artillery.
歩兵 means regular infantry soldiers, while 伏兵 specifically means troops hidden in ambush; the two are easy to mix up because both end in 兵 and refer to soldiers.
工兵 are combat engineers who build bridges and clear obstacles, while 歩兵 are foot soldiers who fight on the front line, and the two kanji look similar because both end in 兵.
Individual soldiers can be counted as people, but this is less specific than dedicated military counters not in the inventory.
Compound of 歩 (ho, 'walk') and 兵 (hei, 'soldier'), literally 'walking soldier'.