大たい尉い

also: だいい

た

い

い

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

1

captain (Army/USMC/USAF); lieutenant (Navy); flight lieutenant (RAF etc.)

Military rank; the exact equivalent depends on the service branch. The reading だいい was used by the Imperial Japanese Navy.

彼かれは陸りく軍ぐんの大たい尉いに昇しょう進しんした。
He was promoted to captain in the Army.
海かい軍ぐんの大たい尉いが部ぶ下かに命めい令れいを出だした。
The navy lieutenant gave orders to his subordinates.

See all 6 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉が大たい尉いに昇しょう進しんするfor someone to be promoted to the rank of captain
彼かれは去きょ年ねん、大たい尉いに昇しょう進しんした。
He was promoted to captain last year.

Kanji

大large, big
尉military officer, jailer, old man

Don't confuse with

中ちゅう尉い
大尉 and 中尉 look and sound alike but denote different ranks: 大尉 is captain, 中尉 is the lower first lieutenant.
少しょう佐さ
大尉 and 少佐 are adjacent military ranks that learners often mix up; 大尉 is captain while 少佐 is the higher major.
少しょう尉い
少尉 is the lowest commissioned officer rank, whereas 大尉 (captain/lieutenant) is a senior rank two steps above it, and the similar kanji make the two easy to confuse.

Counted with

名めいN2
Used for people, especially in formal or seat/reservation contexts.

Word family

空くう軍ぐん大たい尉い
air force captain

Written forms

大尉Usage100%
- たいい
  Standard kanji form; the reading たいい is the most common.
- だいい
  Reading used historically by the Imperial Japanese Navy; not used in modern contexts.
だいい

Etymology

From 大 (great) + 尉 (military officer rank). The reading だいい is a historical variant used by the Imperial Japanese Navy.