争端 (zhēng duān) — dispute, controversy, conflict | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

争端 is a formal noun for a 'dispute' between parties (countries, groups). Compared with 争论/争议 (verbs meaning to argue or debate), 争端 names the dispute itself, often territorial, trade, or legal.

noun

disputecontroversyconflict

Measure word · 个

Examples

争端。
Liǎng guó zhī jiān de mào yì zhēng duān yǐ jīng chí xù duō nián le.
The trade dispute between the two countries has been going on for years.
争端。
Tā men yòng tán pàn jiě jué le zhè chǎng zhēng duān.
They resolved this dispute through negotiation.
争端。
Zhè cì biān jiè zhēng duān yǐn fā le guó jì guān zhù.
This border dispute has drawn international attention.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

争zhēngdispute

端duānmatter/issue

争 means dispute, 端 means matter, so 争端 refers to a disputed matter.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 爭; 争 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 爭 shows two hands on a plowshare; the simplified 争 is a later abbreviation, so this picture belongs to 爭, not 争.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

立耑端

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

耑

耑zhuān端duān

Same sound today

端 is made by putting 立 beside 耑. The 立 part is connected to the meaning, and 耑 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Conflict & Agreement

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