军人

The Chinese word 军人 (jūn rén) for "soldier" is composed of two characters: 军 (jūn) and 人 (rén). The character 军 originally meant "weapon" or "military equipment", and later extended to mean "army" or "military". The character 人 simply means "person". Thus, 军人 literally means "a person who uses weapons" or "a military person".The word 军人 has been used in Chinese for centuries. It is first recorded in the Spring and Autumn Annals, a historical text from the 5th century BC. In this text, 军人 is used to refer to soldiers who served in the armies of the various Chinese states. Over time, the word 军人 came to be used more broadly to refer to any member of the military, regardless of rank or position.Today, 军人 is the standard Chinese word for "soldier". It is used in both formal and informal contexts, and is understood by all Chinese speakers.