抗战 (kàng zhàn) — war of resistance (general); War of Resistance against Japan (1937–1945)

Definition

Literally 'resistance war' — in modern Chinese this almost always means China's War of Resistance against Japan (1937–1945), not any generic war of resistance.

noun
war of resistance (general)War of Resistance against Japan (1937–1945)

Examples

  • 抗战。
    Zhōng guó rén mín zài kàng zhàn zhōng biǎo xiàn chū le jí dà de yǒng qì.
    The Chinese people showed great courage in the war of resistance.
  • 抗战，。
    kàng zhàn Shí qī, xǔ duō zhōng guó rén wéi le guó jiā xī shēng le shēng mìng.
    During the War of Resistance against Japan, many Chinese sacrificed their lives for the country.
  • 抗战。
    Wǒ men zhèng zài xué xí kàng zhàn de lì shǐ.
    We are studying the history of the War of Resistance.

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.

抗kàngresist
战zhànwar

The characters 抗 and 战 combine the idea of resisting with war, giving a war of resistance.

Characters in this word

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
亢
亢kàng抗kàng
Same sound today

抗 is made from 扌, a written form of 手 (hand), and 亢, which gives the sound.

Open 抗 →

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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.