陣頭|じんとうjintou[0]heiban (flat)

1. nounhead of an army

• Related先頭せんとうNeutralThe most general word for the front of a line or column. 「陣頭」 is limited to troops or organizations, often in 「陣頭指揮」, and leans toward written style.
• Related最前線さいぜんせんNeutralThe foremost battle line, also used figuratively for the front line of one's work; stresses holding the very frontmost position.
• Related前衛ぜんえいNeutralA vanguard or advance guard, but also avant-garde art; a word with a wide range of uses.
• Related第一線だいいっせんNeutralThe front line — on the battlefield, and above all the forefront of actual work, which is where the stress usually falls.
• Related先陣せんじんNeutralThe vanguard unit, stressing the role of charging in first; seen in the set phrase 「先陣を切る」.
• Related先鋒せんぽうNeutralA vanguard or advance guard; also the athlete who competes first in a team match, as in kendo.
• Related先遣部隊せんけんぶたいWrittenAn advance detachment sent out ahead of the main force; stresses being dispatched in advance. Written/formal.
• Related前軍ぜんぐんWrittenFront-line troops; rare even in written prose, with the flavor of historical military organization.
• Related尖兵せんぺいNeutralSoldiers probing the enemy from the very front; figuratively a pioneer who blazes the trail, as in 「時代の尖兵」.
• Related先登せんとうWrittenGoing or arriving first, as being first to storm a castle; rare even in written prose and classical in tone.
• Antonym後方こうほうNeutralThe rear or back; the opposite of 「陣頭」 at the front.

Use 「陣頭」 for the very front of troops or an organization, as in 「陣頭指揮」 and 「陣頭に立つ」. For the front of a line or column say 「先頭」; for the front line of work, 「第一線」 or 「最前線」; for a vanguard, 「先陣」. The opposite is 「後方」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 戦陣せんじんのきっさき。部隊ぶたいの先頭せんとう。
2. 宮中きゅうちゅうを守まもる衛士えいしの詰つめる所ところ。
3. 仕事しごとなどの第一線だいいっせん。