伍長
gochō[ɡo̞t͡ɕo̞ː]
The Japanese word for the military rank corporal is 伍長 (gochō).
伍長 is used to denote the military rank of corporal.
Meaning: military rank (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of the kanji 伍 (go), meaning 'five' or 'a group/unit' and 長 (chō), meaning 'leader' or 'chief'.
How do you pronounce it?
gochō
Did you know?
- The character 伍 is also used in the Japanese word for 'five' when writing checks or legal contracts to prevent fraud, as it is harder to alter than the standard numeral.
- While 伍長 is the translation for 'corporal', the Japanese Self-Defense Forces use different terminology today to distance themselves from the Imperial Japanese Army's terminology.
- The suffix 長 in 伍長 is a common linguistic building block for civilian leadership titles, appearing in words like 社長 (company president) and 校長 (school principal).
Examples in context
- 彼は伍長です。Kare wa gochō desu.He is a corporal.
- 伍長、報告いたします。Gochō, hōkoku itashimasu.Corporal, I am reporting.
Example conversation
Two people are discussing a character in a history book.
- 大翔 Hirotoこの人は伍長だったんだね。Kono hito wa gochō datta n da ne.This person was a corporal, right?
- 陽葵 Himariうん、そう書いてあるよ。Un, sō kaite aru yo.Yes, that's what it says.
- 大翔 Hiroto伍長ってどのくらいの階級なの？Gochō tte dono kurai no kaikyū nano?What rank is a corporal exactly?
- 陽葵 Himari下級の非任官将校だよ。Kakyū no hininkan shōkō dayo.It's a lower-ranking non-commissioned officer.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “corporal” translations and entries 伍長, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
