Sa (rank)

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

See also: Ranks and insignia of the Japan Self-Defense Forces

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]
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]
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

See also: Military ranks of North Korea

Jwa
Hangul	좌
Hanja	佐
Revised Romanization	jwa
McCune–Reischauer	chwa

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

Main article: Vietnamese military ranks and insignia

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]
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]
Translation[8]	Senior colonel	Junior Colonel	Lieutenant colonel	Major
Vietnamese	Đại tá	Thượng tá	Trung tá	Thiếu tá
Rank group	Senior officers

South Vietnamese variant

Main article: South Vietnamese military ranks and insignia

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)