战争 (zhàn zhēng) — war

Definition

战争 (zhànzhēng) means a full-scale war between nations or groups — a larger, more sustained conflict than 战斗 (a single battle). It is a formal written-style term, not used for everyday quarrels.

noun
war
Measure word · 场, 次

Examples

  • 战争。
    zhàn zhēng Zhōng yú jié shù le.
    The war finally ended.
  • 战争。
    Zhè chǎng zhàn zhēng chí xù le hěn cháng shí jiān.
    This war lasted a very long time.
  • 战争。
    Rén men dōu xī wàng zhàn zhēng kě yǐ bì miǎn.
    People all hope that war can be avoided.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

战zhànfight
争zhēngcontest

战 'fight' and 争 'contest' together form the idea of war.

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.

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 →

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 →
Appears in
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