兵
兵 — Soldier
soldier, private, troops, army, warfare, strategy
On’yomiヘイ (hei)
On’yomiヒョウ (hyou)
Kun’yomiつわもの (tsuwamono)
Stroke order (7 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 兵
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 核兵器 | かくへいき kakuheiki | nuclear weapon |
| 兵器 | へいき heiki | arms; weapon; ordnance |
| 兵士 | へいし heishi | soldier |
| 兵 | へい hei | (common) soldier; rank and file; army |
| 化学兵器 | かがくへいき kagakuheiki | chemical weapon |
| 派兵 | はへい hahei | dispatch of troops |
Study notes
兵 is a JLPT N2 kanji written with 7 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #522 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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