论战 (lùn zhàn) — (noun) polemic; debate; (verb) to engage in a p… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A sharp, often public 'polemic' — more combative than a neutral 辩论. Used for ideological, political, or academic clashes rather than a structured debate.

noun

polemicdebate

verb

to engage in a polemic or debate

Measure word · 场

Examples

论战。
Zhè chǎng lùn zhàn chí xù le hěn cháng shí jiān.
This polemic lasted a very long time.
论战。
Tā men lùn zhàn le yì zhěng gè xià wǔ.
They debated the whole afternoon.
论战。
Zhè cì lùn zhàn shè jí hěn duō zhèng zhì wèn tí.
This debate involves many political issues.

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.

论lùnargument

论 means argument and 战 means battle, so it suggests a battle of argument or debate.

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 論; 论 is its simplified writing.

言侖論

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

侖

侖lún論lùn

Same sound today

The traditional form 論 pairs 言 (“say”) with 侖 as a sound component; the simplified 论 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

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.

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