恶战 (è zhàn) — fierce battle; ferocious fighting | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

恶战 names a particularly intense, hard-fought battle — the emphasis is on how brutal and grueling the fight is, not on its scale or outcome. Unlike a neutral 战争, it carries a vivid, almost literary tone.

noun

fierce battleferocious fighting

Measure word · 场

Examples

恶战。
Zhè chǎng è zhàn chí xù le sān tiān sān yè.
This fierce battle lasted three days and three nights.
恶战。
Tā men zài è zhàn zhōng biǎo xiàn chū le jí dà de yǒng qì.
They displayed great courage in the ferocious fighting.
恶战。
Lì shǐ shàng yǒu hěn duō zhù míng de è zhàn.
There are many famous fierce battles in history.

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.

恶èfierce

“恶” gives fierce and “战” gives battle, so together they mean ferocious fighting.

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 惡; 恶 is its simplified writing.

亞心惡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

亞

亞yā惡è

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 惡 pairs 心 (heart) as the meaning part with 亞 (yā) as the sound part; the simplified 恶 is a later shorthand.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

占

占zhàn战zhàn

Same sound today

战 pairs 占, which gives its sound, with 戈, a weapon.

Appears in

Military & Defense

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