(kàng) — to resist, to oppose, to fight against (bound form used in compounds)

Definition

Bound morpheme meaning 'to resist, fight against.' It only appears inside compounds (抗战, 抗议, 抗争) — never as a stand-alone verb.

bound form
to resistto opposeto fight against (bound form used in compounds)

Examples

  • Zhōng guó rén mín jìn xíng le cháng qī de kàng rì zhàn zhēng.
    The Chinese people waged a long war of resistance against Japan.
  • Xué shēng men zài guǎng chǎng shàng kàng yì zhèng fǔ de jué cè.
    The students are protesting the government's decision in the square.
  • Tā yì shēng dōu zài wèi zhèng yì ér kàng zhēng.
    He spent his whole life struggling for justice.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
Written in full asshǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
kàngkàng
Same sound today

抗 is made from 扌, a written form of 手 (hand), and 亢, which gives the sound.

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