兵

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soldiers; a force; an army; weapons; arms; military; warlike; CL:個|个[ge4]

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HSK 3.0: Level 4
Old HSK: Level 5
Strokes: 7
Radical: 八 +5
Structure: Top–bottom 上下
Traditional: 兵
Common rank: #396
Unicode: U+5175

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 兵 is formed

Ideographic compound (会意字)

Two hands 八 holding an axe 丘

Components 丘八

How to remember it

troops · Heisig RSH #1078

丘 hill + animal legs

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 兵

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
大头兵	dà tóu bīng	low-ranking soldier; (by extension) low-level employee
调兵山市	Diào bīng shān Shì	Diaobingshan, a county-level city in Tieling City 鐵嶺市\|铁岭市[Tie3 ling3 Shi4], Liaoning
太公兵法	Tài gōng Bīng fǎ	alternative name for 六韜\|六韬[Liu4 tao1], one of the Seven Military Classics of ancient China
大兵	dà bīng	soldier; large army; powerful army; (old) large-scale war
用兵如神	yòng bīng rú shén	to lead military operations with extraordinary skill
水兵	shuǐ bīng	enlisted sailor in navy
天兵	tiān bīng	celestial soldier; (old) imperial troops; (Tw, jocular) clumsy army recruit; (more general…
兵马	bīng mǎ	troops and horses; military forces
兵家	Bīng jiā	the School of the Military, one of the Hundred Schools of Thought 諸子百家\|诸子百家[zhu1 zi3 bai3 …
兵家	bīng jiā	military strategist in ancient China; military commander; soldier
调兵山	Diào bīng shān	see 調兵山市\|调兵山市[Diao4 bing1 shan1 Shi4]
发兵	fā bīng	to dispatch an army; to send troops
兵法	bīng fǎ	art of war; military strategy and tactics
兵力	bīng lì	military strength; armed forces; troops
通信兵	tōng xìn bīng	(military) signaller; signalman
出兵	chū bīng	to send troops
养兵千日，用在一时	yǎng bīng qiān rì , yòng zài yī shí	see 養兵千日，用兵一時\|养兵千日，用兵一时[yang3 bing1 qian1 ri4 , yong4 bing1 yi1 shi2]
热兵器	rè bīng qì	weapon using gunpowder or explosives (opposite: 冷兵器[leng3 bing1 qi4])
养兵千日，用兵一时	yǎng bīng qiān rì , yòng bīng yī shí	lit. Train an army for a thousand days to use it for an hour. (idiom); fig. extensive prep…
兵家常事	bīng jiā cháng shì	commonplace in military operations (idiom)

Sound family

These characters use 兵 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
兵 sound part	bīng	soldier; troops, an army; warlike
浜	bāng	creek, stream; beach, coast