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争夺 (zhēng duó) — to fight for, to contest, to vie for

Definition

争夺 is a formal verb meaning to vie/contest for something concrete like resources, customers, or territory. Stronger and more written than 争取 (strive for an abstract goal); more direct conflict than 竞赛 (compete in a contest).

verb
to fight forto contestto vie for

Examples

  • 争夺。
    Zhè liǎng gè guó jiā zhèng zài zhēng duó zī yuán.
    These two countries are fighting over resources.
  • ，争夺。
    Wèi le huò dé guàn jūn, tā men pīn jìn quán lì zhēng duó.
    In order to win the championship, they gave it their all to contest it.
  • 争夺。
    Shì chǎng shàng duō jiā gōng sī zài zhēng duó kè hù.
    Many companies in the market are vying for customers.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

争zhēngcontend
夺duóseize

争 means contend and 夺 means seize; together they mean fight over something.

Characters in this word

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.

Open 争 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 奪; 夺 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 奪 includes 又 (a hand), 雀 (a bird), and 衣 (clothing), showing a hand seizing a bird from someone; the simplified 夺 is a later abbreviation.

Open 夺 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Conflict & Agreement

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