Definition
兵 (bīng) is a short, versatile word for a soldier or troops. It often appears in compound words (e.g., 士兵 shìbīng) and is more general than the formal 士兵 (specific individual soldier) or 军队/部队 (military as an institution, not the people). Think of it as 'a soldier' or 'troops' in everyday speech.
noun
soldiermilitary personneltroopsarmy (as a collective force)
Measure word · 个
Easily confused
- 并bìngsound-alike(verb) to combine, to merge
- 病bìngsound-alikeillness, disease
- 冰bīngsound-alikeice
- 饼bǐngsound-alikeround flat cake (e.g. pancake, pie, mooncake)
- 丙bǐngsound-alikethird of the ten Heavenly Stems (天干)
Examples
- 兵。Tā shì yí gè yōuxiù de shì bīng.He is an excellent soldier.
- 。Dírén chūdòng le sān wàn bīng lì.The enemy deployed thirty thousand troops.
- 。Wǒ gēge qù dāng bīng le.My older brother went to become a soldier.
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