军 meaning and stroke order
Army, military; soldiers, troops
How to write 军, stroke by stroke
6 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 5
- 6
Meaning of 军
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) army
- military
How 军 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Soldiers 冖 (distorted 力) in a cart 车.
Radical: 车 (cart), shared by 50 characters on this site.
How to remember 军
Picture a cover 冖 over a war cart 车: soldiers riding together in a covered chariot make up an army. The etymology hint says the top part is a distorted form of 力 (strength), so think of strong troops in a cart.
军 (jūn) is a bound form, so it usually appears inside words like 军队 (jūnduì, troops), 军人 (jūnrén, soldier) and 海军 (hǎijūn, navy). It also shows up in sports rankings such as 冠军 (guànjūn, champion). Example: 他哥哥是军人。(Tā gēge shì jūnrén.) His older brother is a soldier.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 军 (jūn) with 运 (yùn, to transport) or 车 (chē, vehicle) because they share the 车 part; 军 has the 冖 cover on top and no 辶. Also do not use 军 alone to mean "army" in speech; say 军队 (jūnduì).
Common words with 军
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 冠军 | guànjūn | champion | HSK 5 |
| 军人 | jūnrén | serviceman; soldier | HSK 5 |
| 亚军 | yàjūn | second place (in a sports contest); runner-up | HSK 5 |
| 将军 | jiāngjūn | general; high-ranking military officer | HSK 6 |
| 军队 | jūnduì | armed forces; troops | HSK 6 |
| 海军 | hǎijūn | navy | HSK 6 |
| 军事 | jūnshì | military affairs; (attributive) military | HSK 6 |
| 空军 | kōngjūn | air force; (slang) to fail to catch anything (on a fishing trip); to get skunked | HSK 6 |
| 陆军 | lùjūn | army; ground forces | HSK 6 |
| 军舰 | jūnjiàn | warship; military naval vessel | HSK 6 |
| 军官 | jūnguān | officer (military) | HSK 7-9 |
| 参军 | cānjūn | to join the army; (official title in imperial China) military adviser; aide-de-camp | HSK 7-9 |
| 领军 | lǐngjūn | to lead troups; (fig.) to lead | HSK 7-9 |
| 千军万马 | qiānjūn-wànmǎ | magnificent army with thousands of men and horses (idiom); impressive display of manpower; | HSK 7-9 |
军 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 军
Learning 军 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 军
How many strokes are in 军?
军 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 军 mean?
军 (jūn) means army, military; soldiers, troops. A common word with it is 冠军 (guànjūn), meaning "champion".
How do you pronounce 军?
军 is pronounced jūn, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 军?
The radical of 军 is 车, which carries the idea of "cart". Dictionaries list 军 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 军?
The traditional form of 军 is 軍. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 军 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 军 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 军 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
Why does 冠军 mean champion if 军 means army?
冠 (guàn) means first or top, so 冠军 originally meant the best in the army. Today it simply means the winner, and 亚军 (yàjūn) means runner-up.
What does 空军 mean in fishing slang?
Besides meaning air force, 空军 (kōngjūn) is slang for coming back from a fishing trip with nothing caught. The 空 (kōng, empty) part gives the joke.