殴斗 (ōu dǒu) — fistfight; physical brawl (formal, often in leg…

Definition

殴斗 (ōudòu) is a formal/literary noun for a physical brawl or fistfight, common in legal and news reports — far more formal than everyday 打架.

noun

fistfightphysical brawl (formal, often in legal or news contexts)

殴斗。
Tā men zhī jiān de ōu dǒu chí xù le hěn cháng shí jiān.
The fistfight between them lasted a long time.
殴斗。
Zhè qǐ ōu dǒu shì jiàn bèi jǐng fāng jì lù zài àn.
This fistfight incident was recorded by the police.
殴斗。
Zài gōng gòng chǎng suǒ fā shēng ōu dǒu shì wéi fǎ de.
Having a fistfight in a public place is illegal.

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.

“殴” (beat) and “斗” (fight) combine to mean a physical brawl.

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 毆; 殴 is its simplified writing.

區殳毆

Meaning part形符xíngfú

殳殳shūaction

Sound part声符shēngfú

區

區qū毆ōu

Same sound today

The traditional form 毆 pairs 區 for the sound with 殳 to mark an action, to write beat; 殴 is a simplified shorthand.

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.