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Kanji for Warrior

The kanji most commonly used for "Warrior" is 武.

Kanji that mean Warrior

  • military, war

    Also associated with brave.

    Onyomi: bu, mu Kunyomi: take, takeshi 8 strokes Jōyō

武 (bu / mu) is the warrior’s character — the martial itself. It compounds a halberd 戈 with a foot 止, and classical scholars loved the irony available in it: one etymology reads “to advance bearing arms”, another — beloved of budō teachers — “to stop the spear”: true martiality ends violence. Both readings live in the word 武道, the martial ways.

武 powers the whole vocabulary of the fighting class: 武士 (bushi, the warrior), 武士道 (bushidō, his code), 武器 (weapon), 武将 (warlord), 武蔵 (Musashi — the most famous swordsman name in history). A 武人 is a person of arms as 文人 is a person of letters — the paired ideals 文武両道, excellence in both pen and sword, is still praised in schools.

Around it: 侍 (the samurai as servant-knight), 兵 (soldier), 戦 (war, battle), and 強 (strong). This site’s samurai page covers 士 and 侍 in detail.

Words using Warrior kanji

Everyday Japanese vocabulary built from the characters above.

  • 武力 ぶりょく Listen armed might; military power; the sword
  • 武器 ぶき Listen weapon; arms; ordnance
  • 武装 ぶそう Listen arms; armament; taking up arms
  • 武道 ぶどう Listen martial arts; military arts; Bushido
  • 武士 ぶし Listen samurai; warrior
  • 核武装 かくぶそう Listen nuclear arms

Before you use Warrior kanji

武 is the serious martial choice — the character of budō and bushidō — and the "stop the spear" etymology gives it a peaceable depth teachers will happily explain. It reads disciplined rather than aggressive. For the man rather than the art, 侍 says samurai; for raw belligerence 戦 (war) exists, but 武 is the one with honour built in.

Other meanings to explore

See all kanji by meaning →

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