soldier; rank-and-file soldier
Refers to an individual soldier, especially an ordinary or lower-ranking soldier. It is common in military, historical, and written contexts; 兵士 is often clearer in everyday modern wording.
Collective use for soldiers as a force or army. Often appears with numbers or verbs such as 率いる, 集める, or 進める.
warfare; military strategy
Literary or classical use referring to war, warfare, or the art of war rather than to soldiers themselves. In modern Japanese it is mostly seen in set phrases, classical quotations, or compounds related to military strategy.
The general led fifty thousand troops into battle.
A young soldier was standing in front of the gate.
He fought not as an officer, but as a single rank-and-file soldier.
The king led ten thousand troops north.
Enemy troops gathered around the castle.
In the phrase 兵は詭道なり, 兵 refers to warfare or military operations, not to soldiers.
The king gathered troops from across the land.
The government sent troops to that region.
The enemy suffered losses and withdrew their troops.
He fought as a soldier while still young.
軍隊 names the organized military force as an institution, whereas 兵 in this sense refers to the troops themselves as a body of fighters.
兵法 is the fixed term for military strategy or the art of war, matching the strategic sense of 兵 in classical usage.
「人」is natural when counting soldiers (兵) as a number of people.
weapon; arms; ordnance
soldier
sailor; marine
mercenary; soldier of fortune
armed forces; military; troops · soldier; rank-and-file soldier · underling; grunt; ordinary employee
conscription; military draft; compulsory enlistment
military police
military strength; military force
infantry; infantryman; foot soldier
Standard kanji spelling for this military noun. Normally written with the kanji rather than kana.
Sino-Japanese reading へい of the kanji 兵, conventionally associated with soldiers, troops, arms, and military affairs. No more specific historical derivation is asserted here.
army corps
military service; conscription
militia; militiaman
American soldier; US serviceman; US servicewoman
cavalry; cavalryman; trooper
dispatch of troops; sending of military forces
new recruit; conscript
guard; sentinel; garrison
art of war; strategy; tactics
dispatch of troops; military expedition
barracks; military quarters
logistics; supply; communications
naval sailor; seaman
artillery; gunner
private (military rank); recruit
troops in ambush; ambush force; ambush · unexpected opponent; unexpected obstacle; surprise rival
military personnel; troop strength
combat engineer; military engineer
officers and soldiers
private army; private soldiers
warrant soldier