死战 (sǐ zhàn) — to fight to the death; a life-and-death struggl… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

死战 means 'fight to the death' — a decisive, no-retreat battle or struggle. Mostly found in literary or historical writing, not everyday speech.

to fight to the deatha life-and-death strugglea battle to the death

Measure word · 场

Examples

死战。
Tā men jué xīn yǔ dí rén sǐ zhàn dào dǐ.
They are determined to fight to the death with the enemy.
死战，。
Zhè shì yì chǎng sǐ zhàn, méi yǒu rén huì tóu xiáng.
This is a life-and-death battle; no one will surrender.
死战。
Lì shǐ shàng jì zǎi le xǔ duō zhuàng liè de sǐ zhàn.
History records many heroic life-and-death battles.

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.

“死” gives the limit of death, while “战” is the fighting.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

尸

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

死 is built from 歹 and 尸: 歹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 尸 gives the sound.

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

占戈战

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

占

占zhàn战zhàn

Same sound today

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

Appears in

Military & Defense

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