斥せっ候こう

せ

っ

こ

う

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', transitive verb

scout; patrol; spy

Military term for reconnaissance, scouting, or spying. Used as a noun or with する for the action.

斥せっ候こうを送おくって敵てきの位い置ちを探さぐらせた。
They sent out scouts to locate the enemy.

彼かれ

は

敵てき

陣じん

を

斥せっ

候こう

する

任にん

務む

に

つい

た

。

He was assigned to scout the enemy camp.

Kanji

斥reject, retreat, recede
候climate, season, weather

Similar words

偵てい察さつ
偵察 is a broader term for reconnaissance or observation, while 斥候 specifically refers to the person or small unit performing scouting or spying.

Etymology

Compound of 斥 (repel, reject, scout) and 候 (climate, season, wait, expect). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with scouting and reconnaissance.