武 means “martial, military”

ぶ · bu

Also: warrior, chivalry, arms

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

たけ, たけし

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ブ, ム

JLPT N2 · Taught in grade 5 · 8 strokes

The story

A foot (止) marching with a halberd (戈): an army on the move, though a famous line in an ancient Chinese chronicle reads it as stopping (止) the spear. 武士 is a samurai, and 武道, judo and kendo among them, are the martial arts.

Used in 武士 (bushi, samurai/warrior), 武道 (budou, martial arts), and 武器 (buki, weapon)

More from Warriors & Rivals

• 被 suffer
• 兵 soldier
• 競 compete
• 将 commander
• 暴 violent
• 圧 pressure
• 爆 explode
• 乱 disorder
• 刺 stab
• 勇 courage
• 隻 counter for ships
• 防 prevent

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.