舌战 (shé zhàn) — to argue heatedly; to engage in a verbal battle or dispute

Definition

Literary verb meaning 'to argue heatedly' or 'engage in a verbal battle'. Implies skilled, prolonged debate, more formal and dramatic than everyday 争论.

verb
to argue heatedlyto engage in a verbal battle or dispute

Examples

  • 舌战。
    Shuāng fāng dài biǎo zài tán pàn zhuō shàng shé zhàn le yí gè xiǎo shí.
    The representatives from both sides argued heatedly at the negotiation table for an hour.
  • 舌战，。
    Nà wèi jiào shòu zuì shàn cháng shé zhàn, méi yǒu rén néng shuō dé guò tā.
    That professor is best at verbal battles; no one can out-argue him.
  • 舌战，。
    Tā men wèi zhè ge zhèng cè shé zhàn le bàn tiān, zuì hòu yě méi dá chéng yí zhì.
    They argued heatedly over this policy for a long time and finally couldn't reach an agreement.

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.

舌shétongue
战zhànbattle

舌 (tongue) + 战 (battle) forms the image of a verbal battle.

Characters in this word

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

舌 was drawn as a snake's forked tongue rising from an open mouth.

Open 舌 →

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 →

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