兵士 (bīng shì) — ordinary soldier, private

Definition

noun

ordinary soldierprivate

Measure word · 个

Easily confused

兵士。
Zhè wèi bīng shì zài zhàn chǎng shàng biǎo xiàn fēi cháng yǒng gǎn.
This soldier performed very bravely on the battlefield.
兵士。
Xǔ duō bīng shì zài zhàn zhēng zhōng shī qù le shēng mìng.
Many soldiers lost their lives in the war.
兵士，。
Tā shì yì míng pǔ tōng de bīng shì, dàn wéi rén zhèng zhí.
He is an ordinary soldier, but he is upright.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

兵 and 士 both point to a warrior or soldier, giving an ordinary soldier.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

兵 combines 斤, a short axe, with 廾, two hands, showing a pair of hands holding a weapon.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 士 comes from a simple drawing of a war axe. The character later came to mean a soldier, officer, or intellectual.