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将士 (jiàng shì) — officers and soldiers; commanders and troops (literary/formal)

Definition

Literary/formal collective term for 'officers and soldiers', used mainly in writing about the military, war, or historical battles. It pairs naturally with verbs of fighting or guarding.

noun
officers and soldierscommanders and troops (literary/formal)

Examples

  • 将士。
    Zhè xiē jiàng shì zài zhàn chǎng shàng yīng yǒng zuò zhàn.
    These officers and soldiers fought bravely on the battlefield.
  • 将士。
    Lì shǐ shàng yǒu xǔ duō zhù míng de jiàng shì.
    There are many famous generals and soldiers in history.
  • 将士。
    jiàng shì Men shǒu wèi zhe guó jiā de biān jiāng.
    The officers and soldiers guard the nation's borders.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

将jiāngofficer
士shìsoldier

将士 joins 将 (officer) and 士 (soldier) to mean officers and men.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 將; 将 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
爿
爿pán將jiāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 將 combines 爿, which also supplies a sound and may show a small table, with ⺼ (meat) and 寸 (hand) to picture offering meat as tribute. The simplified 将 is a later shorthand.

Open 将 →

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.

Open 士 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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