百戦(ひゃくせん)

ひゃくせん
noun
many battles; a hundred fights
1. many battles; a hundred fights
A literary expression meaning 'a hundred battles' or, more broadly, 'many encounters or contests'. Used almost exclusively in fixed phrases and compounds.
彼(かれ)は百戦(ひゃくせん)錬磨(れんま)の将軍(しょうぐん)だ。
He is a veteran general tested in many battles.
敵(てき)を知(し)り己(おのれ)を知(し)れば、百戦(ひゃくせん)危(あや)うからず。
Know your enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear a hundred battles.
営業(えいぎょう)部(ぶ)長(ちょう)は交渉(こうしょう)に慣(な)れた百戦(ひゃくせん)錬磨(れんま)のプロだ。
The sales manager is a hardened negotiation pro tested in many battles.

Literary noun composed of 百(ひゃく) (hundred) + 戦(せん) (battle). Almost never used alone in modern Japanese — instead appears in fixed expressions, especially the compound 百戦(ひゃくせん)錬磨(れんま) and the proverb quoted in example 2.

FIXED EXPRESSIONS:

  • 百戦(ひゃくせん)錬磨(れんま): hardened by many battles; battle-tested; veteran
  • 百戦(ひゃくせん)百勝(ひゃくしょう): a hundred battles, a hundred victories (undefeated)
  • 百戦(ひゃくせん)危(あや)うからず: never in danger even in a hundred battles

CULTURAL CONTEXT:
The most common modern use is metaphorical — 百戦(ひゃくせん)錬磨(れんま) describes seasoned professionals (negotiators, salespeople, athletes), not literal soldiers.

general
Added 2026.5.29 12:08
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