善战 (shàn zhàn) — good at fighting; skilled in battle; bellicose;…

Definition

Literary adjective meaning 'skilled in battle' (e.g. 一位善战的将军). The second sense is bellicose/warlike, describing peoples or cultures prone to warfare.

adjective

good at fightingskilled in battlebellicosewarlike

Examples

善战，。
Zhè wèi jiāng jūn fēi cháng shàn zhàn, bǎi zhàn bǎi shèng.
This general is very good at fighting and wins every battle.
善战。
Gǔ dài shàn zhàn de mín zú wǎng wǎng néng jiàn lì qiáng dà de guó jiā.
Ancient warlike peoples often built powerful states.
善战，。
Tā bù zhī shàn zhàn, hái shàn yú yòng jì.
He is not only good at fighting but also good at using tactics.

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.

善shàngood/skillful

战zhànfighting

善 good or skillful and 战 fighting combine to mean skilled in battle.

Characters in this word

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

誩誩jìngto wrangle
羊羊yángsheep

An earlier form of 善 joined 羊, a sheep linked with goodness or beauty, and 誩, described as a wrangle; the reference says this meaning link is hard to understand.

Open 善 →

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

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 →

Appears in