纷争 (fēn zhēng) — to dispute; to wrangle | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

纷争 (fēnzhēng) means a prolonged dispute or wrangle, often involving multiple parties or ongoing conflict (border disputes, family feuds). More serious and sustained than a simple 争论 (argument).

verb

to disputeto wrangle

Examples

纷争。
Liǎng guó yīn biān jiè wèn tí bú duàn fēn zhēng.
The two countries are constantly disputing over border issues.
纷争。
Jiā zú nèi bù de fēn zhēng chí xù le duō nián.
The internal wrangling within the family lasted for years.
纷争。
Tā men shì tú tōng guò duì huà jiě jué fēn zhēng.
They tried to resolve the dispute through dialogue.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

纷fēndispute

争zhēngstrife

纷 and 争 both suggest dispute or wrangling, so together they mean to dispute.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 紛; 纷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mì

Sound part声符shēngfú

分

分fēn紛fēn

Same sound today

The form 紛 is built from 糸, a meaning part, and 分, a sound part.

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.

Appears in

Conflict & Agreement

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