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One of the best Japanese Kanji dictionary.
The kanji most commonly used for "Warrior" is 武.
武
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.
Everyday Japanese vocabulary built from the characters above.
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.
What is Onyomi?
Onyomi, also known as the "Sino-Japanese reading," is one of the two main reading systems for kanji characters in Japanese. It refers to the reading of a kanji character that is derived from the original Chinese pronunciation.
What is Kunyomi?
Kunyomi, also known as the "native Japanese reading," is one of the two main reading systems for kanji characters in Japanese. It refers to the reading of a kanji character that is based on the native Japanese pronunciation. Kunyomi readings are often used when a kanji character stands alone or is followed by hiragana, as in verbs and adjectives. Mastering both kunyomi and onyomi is crucial for understanding and using kanji effectively in the Japanese language.
What is Radical?
A radical, also known as "bushu" in Japanese, is a fundamental component of kanji characters. Radicals are the building blocks of kanji and are used to categorize and organize them in dictionaries. There are 214 traditional radicals, each with its own meaning, which often provides a clue to the meaning of the kanji character it forms.
What is strokes?
Stroke count, or "kakusuu" in Japanese, refers to the number of individual brushstrokes required to write a kanji character. Each kanji has a specific stroke order and stroke count, which are essential for writing the character correctly and legibly. Understanding and following the correct stroke order not only ensures proper balance and aesthetics but also makes writing more efficient and fluid.