鏖战 (áo zhàn) — (verb) to engage in a fierce battle; to fight bitterly; (noun) a fierce battle; an intense struggle

Definition

Literary/formal verb and noun for a fierce, prolonged battle or intense struggle (military combat, fierce sports match, etc.). Stronger and more written than 打仗; pair with 激烈, 奋勇.

verb
to engage in a fierce battleto fight bitterly
noun
a fierce battlean intense struggle
Measure word · 场

Examples

  • 鏖战。
    Liǎng jūn zài píng yuán shàng áo zhàn le yì tiān yí yè.
    The two armies fought a fierce battle on the plain for a whole day and night.
  • 鏖战。
    Zhè cì qí sài de áo zhàn yì cháng jī liè.
    The fierce battle of this chess match was exceptionally intense.
  • 鏖战，。
    Jiàng shì men fèn yǒng áo zhàn, zhōng yú shǒu zhù le chéng chí.
    The soldiers fought bravely and bitterly, finally defending the city.

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.

鏖áofierce
战zhànbattle

鏖 conveys fierce or bitter, while 战 conveys fighting, giving the sense of a bitterly fought battle.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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 →

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