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交战 (jiāo zhàn) — to fight, to wage war

Definition

A formal/written verb for two sides actively engaging in war. Refers to the state of mutual combat between parties (often nations), more literary than 打仗. Functions as an intransitive verb (no direct object — say 双方交战, not 交战谁).

verb
to fightto wage war

Examples

  • 交战。
    Zhè liǎng gè guó jiā yǐ jīng jiāo zhàn duō nián le.
    These two countries have been at war for years.
  • 交战，。
    Shuāng fāng jiāo zhàn shí fēn jī liè, shāng wáng cǎn zhòng.
    The two sides fought fiercely, with heavy casualties.
  • 交战，。
    Méi yǒu rén yuàn yì jiāo zhàn, dàn yǒu shí bié wú xuǎn zé.
    No one wants to wage war, but sometimes there is no choice.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

交jiāoengage
战zhànwar

交 means engage and 战 means war; together they picture engaging in war.

Characters in this word

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

交 originally drew a human with crossed legs. In the modern shape, the upper part resembles a standing person.

Open 交 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戈戈gē
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn战zhàn
Same sound today

战 pairs 占, which gives its sound, with 戈, a weapon.

Open 战 →
Appears in
Military & Defense

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