samurai

samurai — noun

1. a high-ranking warrior in feudal Japan who served a lord and lived by the strict

1.名詞B2
釋義

a high-ranking warrior in feudal Japan who served a lord and lived by the strict honor code of Bushido

例句

The old samurai taught his son the ways of Bushido from a very young age.

noun used with definite article + modifier

When the mountain village was threatened by bandits, a samurai stood guard at the bridge.

samurai in historical narrative context

同義詞
  • knight

    European equivalent; different culture and code of conduct (chivalry vs. Bushido)

  • warrior

    broader term; samurai is a culturally specific type of warrior

  • bushi

    Japanese term for 'warrior'; samurai is a subset of bushi with higher rank

反義詞
  • commoner

    a person of ordinary social rank, unlike the high-ranking samurai

  • peasant

    the lowest feudal class in historical Japan, opposite in social standing

文法句型

samurai + noun

number + samurai

用法筆記

The plural form is the same as the singular: one samurai, two samurai. In modern English, the word is sometimes used metaphorically for someone who shows extraordinary discipline, skill, or loyalty in a non-military field, such as business or sports.

常見錯誤

❌Many samurais served the daimyo during the Edo period.
✅Many samurai served the daimyo during the Edo period.
💡The plural of samurai is the same as the singular; do not add -s.
❌The samurai fights with a katana.
✅The samurai fought with a katana.
💡When referring to historical samurai, use past tense.