great warrior; mighty soldier
Idiomatic expression describing a warrior so strong they can take on a thousand enemies alone. Often used in historical or epic contexts.
He is truly a warrior who can match a thousand.
一騎当千 is a shorter, more common four-character idiom meaning 'being a match for a thousand', while 一騎当千の兵 explicitly refers to the warrior themselves.
Standard kanji spelling using 兵 for つわもの.
Mixed kanji-kana spelling; the kana つわもの makes the reading explicit.
Derived from the four-character idiom 一騎当千 (いっきとうせん), meaning 'one rider equals a thousand', combined with 兵 (つわもの, 'warrior'). The exact historical origin is uncertain, but it evokes the image of an exceptionally powerful warrior.