# 軍配
## Japanese

Kanji in this term :
| 軍 | 配 |
| ぐん Grade: 4 | はい > ばい Grade: 3 |
| on'yomi ||
* Alternative spelling
* 軍敗 (less, common)

### Etymology

Appears to be a Japanese coinage from Middle Chinese-derived elements, as a compound of 軍 (gun, “army, military, troops”) +‎ 配 (hai, “arrangement, positioning”). The hai changes to bai as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) ぐんばい [gùńbáí] (Heiban – [0])
* (Tokyo) ぐんばい [gùńbáꜜì] (Nakadaka – [3])
* IPA: [ɡɯ̟̃mba̠i]

### Noun

軍(ぐん)配(ばい) • (gunbai)
* the act of signaling directions or commands to an armed force
* a person issuing such directions
* the act of advancing or retreating in response to the situation
* the act of changing one's prices in response to the situation: bargaining, haggling
* short for 軍配団扇 (gunbai uchiwa): a lacquered rigid wooden fan used for signaling
* (sumo) any of various signals indicated by a gyoji (sumo referee) using a gunbai uchiwa, including decision of the winner of a bout
    軍配(ぐんばい)通(どお)り
       gunbai dōri
       as indicated, confirmation of the victory indicated by a referee

#### Derived terms

* 軍配糸蜻蛉(ぐんばいいととんぼ) (gunbai itotonbo): a type of damselfly, Platycnemis foliacea sasakii
* 軍配団扇(ぐんばいうちわ) (gunbai uchiwa): a lacquered rigid wooden fan used for signaling
* 軍配者(ぐんばいしゃ) (gunbaisha): a person issuing commands to a military force: a commander
* 軍配凧(ぐんばいだこ) (gunbaidako): a kite in the shape of a gunbai uchiwa
* 軍配蜻蛉(ぐんばいとんぼ) (gunbai tonbo): a type of damselfly, Platycnemis foliacea sasakii
* 軍配薺(ぐんばいなずな) (gunbai nazuna): field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense)
* 軍配昼顔(ぐんばいひるがお) (gunbai hirugao): beach morning glory or goat's foot, a common tropical creeping vine: Ipomoea pes-caprae
* 軍配酸漿(ぐんばいほおずき) (gunbai hōzuki): the egg sac of marine whelks of family Melongenidae
* 軍配虫(ぐんばいむし) (gunbai mushi): common name for a lace bug, flying insects of family Tingidae

#### Idioms

* 軍配(ぐんばい)を上(あ)げる (gunbai o ageru): “to raise the gunbai (uchiwa)” → to decide in favor of someone, such as in a competition (from the way the gyōji or sumo referee raises the gunbai uchiwa to indicate a win)
* 軍配(ぐんばい)を返(かえ)す (gunbai o kaesu): “to turn over the gunbai (uchiwa)” → to signal the start of a sumo match, once the initial start-up positioning time has run out

#### Synonyms

* (advancing and retreating): 駆(か)け引(ひ)き (kakehiki)
* (changing prices): 商略(しょうりゃく) (shōryaku), 駆(か)け引(ひ)き (kakehiki)

### Verb

軍(ぐん)配(ばい)する • (gunbai suru) suru (stem 軍(ぐん)配(ばい)し (gunbai shi), past 軍(ぐん)配(ばい)した (gunbai shita))
* to signal directions or commands to an armed force
* to advance or retreat in response to the situation
* to change one's prices in response to the situation: to bargain, to haggle

#### Conjugation

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms") :
| Mizenkei ("imperfective") | 軍配し | ぐんばいし | gunbai shi |
| Ren’yōkei ("continuative") | 軍配し | ぐんばいし | gunbai shi |
| Shūshikei ("terminal") | 軍配する | ぐんばいする | gunbai suru |
| Rentaikei ("attributive") | 軍配する | ぐんばいする | gunbai suru |
| Kateikei ("hypothetical") | 軍配すれ | ぐんばいすれ | gunbai sure |
| Meireikei ("imperative") | 軍配せよ¹ 軍配しろ² | ぐんばいせよ¹ ぐんばいしろ² | gunbai seyo¹ gunbai shiro² |
| Key constructions ||||
| Passive | 軍配される | ぐんばいされる | gunbai sareru |
| Causative | 軍配させる 軍配さす | ぐんばいさせる ぐんばいさす | gunbai saseru gunbai sasu |
| Potential | 軍配できる | ぐんばいできる | gunbai dekiru |
| Volitional | 軍配しよう | ぐんばいしよう | gunbai shiyō |
| Negative | 軍配しない | ぐんばいしない | gunbai shinai |
| Negative continuative | 軍配せず | ぐんばいせず | gunbai sezu |
| Formal | 軍配します | ぐんばいします | gunbai shimasu |
| Perfective | 軍配した | ぐんばいした | gunbai shita |
| Conjunctive | 軍配して | ぐんばいして | gunbai shite |
| Hypothetical conditional | 軍配すれば | ぐんばいすれば | gunbai sureba |
| ¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative ||||

#### Synonyms

* (to advance and retreat): 駆(か)け引(ひ)き (kakehiki)
* (to change prices): 商略(しょうりゃく) (shōryaku), 駆(か)け引(ひ)き (kakehiki)

### References

* 1 2 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
* ↑ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
   * Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN