Chinese word

兵

Pronunciation

Pinyinbīng

Meaning

  • nounsoldier

Example

我们村来了几个兵。wǒ men cūn lái le jǐ gè bīng

Several soldiers came to our village.

Illustration for 兵 (soldier)

More examples

邻村的兵帮助修桥。lín cūn de bīng bāng zhù xiū qiáo

Soldiers from the neighboring village helped repair the bridge.

Core concept

A person whose role is to serve in the armed forces and take part in combat when required.

Common phrases

  • 士兵shì bīng

    soldier

  • 新兵xīn bīng

    new recruit

  • 老兵lǎo bīng

    veteran soldier

Similar words

军人jūn rén: A member of the armed forces who performs military duties.
士兵shì bīng: An enlisted service member who carries out basic military duties.
战士zhàn shì: A military fighter who takes part in combat or assigned missions.

Definition in Chinese

指参与战斗或在军队服役的人员，通称为兵，即士兵或军人。zhǐ cān yù zhàn dòu huò zài jūn duì fú yì de rén yuán tōng chēng wèi bīng jí shì bīng huò jūn rén

Word origin

兵 (bīng, "soldier") first referred to a weapon or weapon-related equipment in early Chinese and later came to mean the person who uses it in the army.

Usage tips

  • In conversational Chinese, 当兵 (dāngbīng, "serve in the army") treats military service as a life activity, while 当过兵 (dāngguòbīng, "have served in the army") marks completed service.

Other meanings

  • military personnelnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 当兵dāng bīngjoin the militaryverb

Word lists with this word