恶斗 (è dòu) — fierce battle, violent struggle

Definition

A 'fierce, vicious fight or struggle' (literal: 'evil fight') — emphasizes the brutal, prolonged intensity of the conflict, whether physical, legal, or political.

noun
fierce battleviolent struggle

Examples

  • 恶斗。
    Zhè chǎng quán lì è dòu chí xù le zhěng zhěng sān nián.
    This power struggle lasted a full three years.
  • 恶斗。
    Shuāng fāng zài fǎ tíng shàng zhǎn kāi le jī liè de è dòu.
    The two sides engaged in a fierce battle in court.
  • 恶斗。
    Tā shì tú zài shāng zhàn de è dòu zhōng bǎo hù zì jǐ de gōng sī.
    He tried to protect his company in the fierce struggle of the business war.

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
斗dòufight

恶 (fierce) and 斗 (fight) combine into a ferocious battle.

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.

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.

Open 恶 →

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

The shape of 斗 originally showed a ladle-shaped dipper or cup used to measure grain, held in a hand.

Open 斗 →

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