Sa (rank)
Military rank of Japan, Vietnam, and North Korea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sa (Japanese: 佐; Korean: 좌; Hanja: 佐; RR: jwa; Vietnamese: tá) is the rank held by field-grade officers in the militaries of Japan, Vietnam, and North Korea.
Japan
The only difference between rank names are the use of morphemes, which are riku (Japanese: 陸, lit. 'land'), kai (Japanese: 海, lit. 'sea') or kū (Japanese: 空, lit. 'air').[1]
| Rank group | Senior officers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1等佐 (Ittō sa) | 2等佐 (Nitō sa) | 3等佐 (Santō sa) | ||
| Literal translation | Aide first class | Aide second class | Aide third class | |
 Japanese Ground Forces[2] |
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(dark_purple).svg) |
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| U.S. equivalent[3] | Colonel | Lieutenant colonel | Major | |
 Japanese Navy[2][4] |
 |
 |
 | |
| U.S. equivalent[3] | Captain | Commander | Lieutenant commander | |
 Japanese Air Force[2][5] |
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| U.S. equivalent[3] | Colonel | Lieutenant colonel | Major | |
| 1等佐 (Ittō sa) | 2等佐 (Nitō sa) | 3等佐 (Santō sa) | ||
| Rank group | Senior officers | |||
North Korea
| Rank group | Senior officers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hangul | 대좌 | 상좌 | 중좌 | 소좌 |
| Hanja | 大佐 | 上佐 | 中佐 | 少佐 |
| Romanization | Daechwa | Sangjwa | Chungjwa | Sojwa |
| Literal translation | Great assistant | Upper assistant | Middle assistant | Small assistant |
 Korean People's Army Ground Force[6] |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| U.S. equivalent[6] | None | Colonel | Lieutenant colonel | Major |
 Korean People's Navy[6] |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| U.S. equivalent[6] | None | Captain | Commander | Lieutenant commander |
 Korean People's Army Air Force[6] |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| U.S. equivalent[6] | None | Colonel | Lieutenant colonel | Major |
| 대좌 Daechwa |
상좌 Sangjwa |
중좌 Chungjwa |
소좌 Sojwa | |
| Rank group | Senior officers | |||
Vietnam
| Rank group | Senior officers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnamese | Đại tá | Thượng tá | Trung tá | Thiếu tá |
| Chữ Hán | 大佐 | 上佐 | 中佐 | 少佐 |
| Literal translation | Grand assistant | Upper assistant | Middle assistant | Lower assistant |
 Vietnam People's Ground Force[7][a] |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Translation[8] | Senior colonel | Colonel | Lieutenant colonel | Major |
 Vietnam People's Navy[7] |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Translation[8] | Upper captain | Captain | Commander | Lieutenant commander |
 Vietnam People's Air Force[7] |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 Vietnam Border Guard[7] |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 Vietnam Coast Guard[7] |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Vietnamese | Đại tá | Thượng tá | Trung tá | Thiếu tá |
| Rank group | Senior officers | |||
South Vietnamese variant
| Rank group | Senior officers | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnamese | Đại tá | Trung tá | Thiếu tá |
| Chữ Hán | 大佐 | 中佐 | 少佐 |
| Literal translation | Grand assistant | Middle assistant | Lower assistant |
 Army of the Republic of Vietnam(1967–1975)[9] |
 |
 |
 |
| Translation[9] | Colonel | Lieutenant colonel | Major |
 Republic of Vietnam Navy(1967–1975)[9] |
 |
 |
 |
| Translation[9] | Captain | Commander | Lieutenant commander |
 Republic of Vietnam Marine Division(1967–1975) |
 |
 |
 |
| Translation | Colonel | Lieutenant colonel | Major |
 Republic of Vietnam Air Force(1967–1975)[9] |
 |
 |
 |
| Translation[9] | Colonel | Lieutenant colonel | Major |
| Vietnamese | Đại tá | Trung tá | Thiếu tá |
| Rank group | Senior officers | ||
See also
Ranks used in Chinese character-using countries
- General officer: Jiang (rank)
- Senior officer: Sa (rank), Xiao (rank), Lyeong
- Junior officer: Wei (rank)
- Non-commissioned officers: Shi (rank)
- Enlisted ranks: Bing (rank), Shi (rank)
Notes
- Same insignia for the Cyberspace Operations and Mausoleum Command.[7]