The Chinese symbol for warrior — 武 (wǔ)

Where the character comes from

武 is written 止 over 戈 — a foot and a dagger-axe. A famous line in the 左传 splits it as 止戈为武, 'to stop weapons is 武', which has been quoted as a pacifist reading for 2,500 years. It is a pun. The 止 element is a footprint, so the original picture is a man marching with a weapon, not laying one down.

How it is actually used

武术 is martial arts, 武器 is a weapon, 武功 is fighting skill, and 武侠 is the martial-hero genre of fiction and film. 文武双全 — accomplished in both letters and arms — is the classical compliment.

Both glyphs above are set in whatever Chinese font your device uses, which is a 楷书-derived regular script — the same shape a printer or a tattoo studio's "Chinese font" will produce. Brush styles (行书 running, 草书 cursive, 篆书 seal) look substantially different and are worth commissioning from a calligrapher rather than approximating from a font. You can watch this character written stroke by stroke in the Stroke Order Animator or practise it on printable 田字格 sheets.

This is the part a symbol list leaves out, and it is the fastest way to feel what a character actually carries. Readings and meanings come from the same dictionary that powers the translator; tap any word for its full dictionary entry.

武 is one answer, not the answer. Which of these is right depends on what you mean by "warrior" — and that is usually the question worth settling before anything is written down permanently.

What is the Chinese symbol for warrior?

武 (wǔ) means martial — to do with war and with the fighting arts. It is not the noun 'warrior': a warrior is 武士 (wǔshì) or 战士 (zhànshì), and 武 alone is the modifier in front of them. It is written 武 and pronounced wǔ.

What does 武 not mean?

It does not mean warrior, soldier or fighter on its own, and it does not mean strength. It is closer to the English adjective 'martial' than to any noun.

Is 武 commonly mistranslated?

Yes. The claim you will meet most often is: "武 means warrior." 武士 means warrior. 武 alone modifies: it tells you the domain is military, not who the person is. This page lists 3 such claims about 武 with what is true instead.

Is 武 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

武 is the same in both scripts, eight strokes. The 戈 component gives it a strong diagonal that calligraphers lean into, which is why the character looks noticeably more aggressive in 行书 running script than in a printed font.

What else can I use for warrior in Chinese?

Depending on what you mean: 武士, 战士, 侠. This page explains when each one is the right choice, and 武 itself lives in words such as 武术, 武器, 武士.