Where does “二等兵” come from?

二等兵 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 兵, from Middle Chinese へい, from Middle Chinese 兵.

二等兵 (Japanese): a private second class

Definitions

  1. a private second class

Ancestry of “二等兵”, step by step

二等兵 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 兵

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese兵a soldier; a war machine; a weapon; a battle, a...
2Middle Chineseへい—
3Middle Chinese兵—

via Japanese 二等

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese二等—
Every word from Middle Chinese 兵 →Every word from Middle Chinese へい →Every word from Japanese 兵 →