兵 bīng — weapon, soldier · English

兵

bīng

weapon, soldier

At a glance · 兵

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

甲骨文、金文象双手（廾）持斤（斧类兵器），会意兵器。隶变后上「丘」下「八」之形，作「兵」。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「兵」本指兵器，引申为持兵之士与军队。

Structure

会意字，从廾从斤，双手持斧，表示兵器、士兵。

At a glance

Pinyinbīng

Radical八

Strokes7

UnicodeU+5175

Character type会意

Theme军事

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English weapon, soldier Weapon; soldier, army. Originally depicted hands holding an axe.

Français arme, soldat Arme; soldat, armée. À l'origine, des mains tenant une hache.

Español arma, soldado Arma; soldado, ejército. Originalmente manos sosteniendo un hacha.

العربية سلاح، جندي سلاح وجندي؛ كان يصوّر يدين تمسكان فأسًا.

Русский оружие, солдат Оружие; солдат, армия. Изначально — руки с топором.

Common words

士兵shì bīngsoldier
兵器bīng qìweapon

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