兵 — “soldier” in Japanese

Grade 4へい, ひょう

Radical ⼋ · radical 12 The building block this kanji is filed under

“soldier” in Japanese is 兵, read hei, hyou (へい, ひょう). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 兵士 (soldier).

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What does 兵 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	兵
Meaning	soldier
Readings	へい, ひょう
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	兵士 (soldier)

How to read 兵

兵 is read hei (へい) or hyou (ひょう) depending on the word.

Words with 兵

兵庫県ひょうごけん
兵士

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Kanji read the same way as 兵

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Read this character in a real sentence

⚾ 夏のこうしえんと選手たち Grade 4

Updated: 2026-08-28