軍人
gunjin[ɡɯ̟̃ɲ̟d͡ʑĩɴ]
To say military personnel in Japanese, use 軍人 (gunjin).
軍人 is the general word for soldiers and other members of the armed forces.
What does it mean word for word?
The word is made of 軍, meaning army or military and 人, meaning person.
Which one should you use?
Members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces are more accurately and formally called 自衛官 (jieikan) rather than 軍人.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
軍人 is a standard, neutral term.
How do you pronounce it?
It is read gunjin.
Did you know?
- In Japanese pop culture and anime, characters are frequently called 軍人 even if they belong to a fictional organization, as the word carries a romanticized or strict 'soldier' archetype that 自衛官 lacks.
- The kanji 軍 is also used in the word 軍事 ('military affairs'), but it is also the root for terms describing 'troops' in traditional board games like Shogi.
- While 軍人 (gunjin) is used globally for soldiers, using it for members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces can be a sensitive political topic in Japan. Because the JSDF is constitutionally defined as a defense force rather than a formal military, many official contexts strictly avoid the word 'soldier' or 'military person'.
Examples in context
- 彼は若い軍人です。Kare wa wakai gunjin desu.He is a young military person.
- 祖父は軍人でした。Sofu wa gunjin deshita.My grandfather was in the military.
Example conversation
Two siblings are talking about a movie they just watched.
- 陽葵 Himariあの映画の軍人はかっこよかったね。Ano eiga no gunjin wa kakkoiyokatta ne.The military personnel in that movie were cool, weren't they?
- 陽太 Yotaそうだね、とても強そうだった。Sou dane, totemo tsuyosou datta.Yeah, they looked very strong.
- 陽葵 Himari陽太も軍人になりたいの？Youta mo gunjin ni naritai no?Do you want to be a soldier too, Youta?
- 陽太 Yotaいや、僕は普通の仕事がいいよ。Iya, boku wa futsuu no shigoto ga ii yo.No, I would prefer a normal job.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 軍人, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
