大佐

Japanese

Kanji in this term
大	佐
たい Grade: 1	さ Grade: 4
kan’on

Etymology

大 (“grand”) +‎ 佐 (“assistant”), likely modeled after 大将 (taishō, “general”). See 佐官 (sakan, “field officer”) for more. Compare North Korean 대좌 (daejwa) and Vietnamese đại tá (“senior colonel/captain”), North Korean 상좌 (sangjwa) and Vietnamese thượng tá (“army colonel; naval captain”), South Korean 대령 (daeryeong, “army colonel; naval captain”), and mainland Mandarin 大校 (dàxiào, “senior colonel/captain”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) たいさ [tàísá] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ta̠isa̠]

Noun

大(たい)佐(さ) • (taisa) 

1. (military) a colonel

   Hypernym: 佐官

   Hyponym: 上級大佐

   Coordinate terms: 少佐, 大尉, 大将, 中佐

   ロイ・マスタング大(たい)佐(さ)

   Roi Masutangu Taisa

   Colonel Roy Mustang

2. (military) a captain (naval officer with a rank between commander and commodore or rear admiral)

   Hypernym: 佐官

   Coordinate terms: 少佐, 大尉 (“army captain; naval lieutenant”), 大将, 中佐

3. (military) a group captain

   Hypernym: 佐官

   Coordinate terms: 少佐, 大尉, 大将, 中佐

Usage notes

Originally used for ranks in the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces. Now only used for ranks in other countries.

See also

• 船(せん)長(ちょう) (senchō, “sea captain”)
• キャプテン (kyaputen)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
大	佐

Noun

大佐

1. chữ Hán form of đại tá (“commodore”).