Definify.com

Definition 2025

軍配: a samurai using a gunbai uchiwa to signal to his troops.

軍配 ‎(hiragana ぐんばい, romaji 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

軍配糸蜻蛉 (ぐんばいいととんぼ) ‎(gunbai ito tonbo): 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): the field pennycress, Thlaspi arvense
軍配昼顔 (ぐんばいひるがお) ‎(gunbai hirugao): the 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

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

軍配する ‎(hiragana ぐんばいする, romaji gunbai suru)

Conjugation of "軍配する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	軍配し	ぐんばいし	gunbai shi
Continuative (連用形)	軍配し	ぐんばいし	gunbai shi
Terminal (終止形)	軍配する	ぐんばいする	gunbai suru
Attributive (連体形)	軍配する	ぐんばいする	gunbai suru
Hypothetical (仮定形)	軍配すれ	ぐんばいすれ	gunbai sure
Imperative (命令形)	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

↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
1 2 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3

1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan