Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 退役軍人 | taieki gunjin |
| 老兵 | rōhei |
The term 退役軍人 is the standard way to refer to a person who has completed their military service. While it is often translated as 'veteran', it specifically conveys the meaning of retired or discharged military personnel. If you are referring to an experienced professional in fields like business, sports or entertainment, the katakana word ベテラン is used instead.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 退役軍人 is composed of two parts: 退役, which means retired or discharged from service and 軍人, which means a military person or soldier.
Which one should you use?
退役軍人 is the formal, administrative term for a retired or discharged soldier. In contrast, 老兵 refers more literally to an 'old soldier' in terms of their age or long years of experience. It often carries a more literary or poetic nuance than the standard term.
How do you pronounce it?
taieki gunjin
Did you know?
- Japanese lacks a single, common word that captures the American cultural concept of 'Veteran's Day' as a celebration of identity, often relying on longer descriptive phrases instead.
- The character 退 in 退役軍人 also appears in words for 'retreating' or 'stepping back', emphasizing the act of leaving a position rather than just finishing a term.
- In modern Japanese, calling someone a ベテラン can be a high compliment, but using 老兵 in a casual conversation might sound like you are calling them ancient.
Examples in context
- 私の叔父はベトナム戦争の退役軍人だ。My uncle is a veteran of the Vietnam War.This sentence is useful for identifying someone as a veteran of a specific war using 退役軍人.Tatoeba #163337 by huizi99, translation #251175 by CK
- ガンの末期にあった彼は、輸血をきっぱりと拒絶したためにニューヨーク市のある退役軍人の病院から三度追い出されました。Suffering from terminal cancer, he was thrown out of a certain veteran hospital in New York three times because he adamantly rejected blood transfusions.This sentence shows how 退役軍人 can be used to describe a veteran hospital.Tatoeba #508941 by xtofu80, translation #509515 by blay_paul
- その戦士は立派な退役軍人です。That warrior is an admirable veteran.
- 彼は評判のベテラン選手です。He is a renowned veteran player.
- あの古参のメンバーがいつも助けてくれるよ。That veteran member always helps us.
- 彼は、とても尊敬されている退役軍人です。Kare wa, totemo sonkei sarete iru taiikugunin desu.He is a very respected veteran.
Example conversation
Yota and Yui are looking at a photo of Yota's grandfather.
- 陽太 Yotaこの人は僕のおじいちゃんだよ。Kono hito wa boku no ojiichan dayo.This is my grandfather.
- 結衣 Yuiかっこいい写真ね。お仕事は何だったの？Kakkoii shashin ne. Oshigoto wa nan datta no?It's a cool photo. What was his job?
- 陽太 Yota彼は退役軍人なんだ。Kare wa taiyekugunjin nanda.He is a veteran.
- 結衣 Yuiそうなんだ。すごいね。Sō nanda. Sugoi ne.I see. That's amazing.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “veteran” translations and entries 老兵, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
