争 (zhēng) — to contend / to strive for / to vie for; to argue / to dispute
Definition
The base verb for 'to vie/strive for' and 'to argue' — most often seen as the first syllable of compounds like 争取, 争吵, 争夺. Use 争取 for striving toward a goal; 争吵/争论 for arguing.
verb
to contend / to strive for / to vie forto argue / to dispute
Examples
- 争。Tā zài bǐ sài lǐ zhēng dì yī míng.He is vying for first place in the competition.
- 争。Tā men wèi yí gè xiǎo wèn tí zhēng le yí xià wǔ.They argued for a whole afternoon over a small problem.
- 争。Liǎng jiā gōng sī zhèng zài zhēng zhè ge shì chǎng.Two companies are competing for this market.
Origin
Pictograph六书liùshū
象形xiàngxíngA 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.
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