Japanese symbol for “military”
軍隊
ぐんたい
Romaji: guntai
armed forces; military; troops
In Japanese, military is 軍隊, read ぐんたい (guntai).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n armed forces; military; troops
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “military”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 兵隊 | へいたい heitai | armed forces; military; troops |
| ミリタリー | ミリタリー miritarii | military |
| 軍事上 | ぐんじじょう gunjijou | military; strategic |
| 軍事的 | ぐんじてき gunjiteki | military |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 軍事 | ぐんじ gunji | military affairs |
| 将軍 | しょうぐん shougun | general |
| 海軍 | かいぐん kaigun | navy; naval force |
| 軍人 | ぐんじん gunjin | serviceman; servicewoman; soldier |
| 陸軍 | りくぐん rikugun | army |
| 自衛隊 | じえいたい jieitai | Japan Self-Defense Forces; JSDF |
| 部隊 | ぶたい butai | force; unit; corps |
| 艦隊 | かんたい kantai | (naval) fleet; armada |
See also: Chinese symbol for “military”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.