战 zhàn — to fight; fight; war; battle
人们都希望和平，不要战争。Rén men dōu xī wàng hé píng, bú yào zhàn zhēng.People all hope for peace, not war.
Common words: 战争 (zhàn zhēng)、挑战 (tiǎo zhàn)、战斗 (zhàn dòu)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "fight"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "fight", including 战 (zhàn), 争 (zhēng), 斗 (dǒu / dòu), 搏 (bó). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "fight" covers 4 different Chinese characters — 战 (zhàn), 争 (zhēng), 斗 (dǒu / dòu), 搏 (bó) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 4 characters do not share a sound — their readings span zhàn, zhēng, dǒu, dòu, bó — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 战 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 战 zhànto fight; fight; war; battleUseful words: 战争, 挑战
- 争 zhēngstruggle; fightUseful words: 争取, 战争
- 斗 dǒu / dòuChinese peck; to fight; to battle; to struggle; to incite; fightUseful words: 战斗, 奋斗
- 搏 bófight; combat; seizeUseful words: 脉搏, 搏斗
Common words for these 4 "fight" characters
Anchor each of these 4 characters in a word you can picture — start with 战 (zhàn) — so "fight" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
战争zhàn zhēngwar; conflict挑战tiǎo zhànto challenge; to take on a challenge; a challenge战斗zhàn dòuto fight; to engage in combat; struggle; battle争取zhēng qǔto fight for; to strive for; to win over战争zhàn zhēngwar; conflict竞争jìng zhēngto compete; competition战斗zhàn dòuto fight; to engage in combat; struggle; battle奋斗fèn dòuto strive; to struggle斗争dòu zhēnga struggle; fight; battle脉搏mài bópulse (both medical and figurative)
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 4 ways to say "fight".
争 zhēng — struggle; fight
同学们都在争着回答问题。Tóng xué men dōu zài zhēng zhe huí dá wèn tí.The classmates are all eager to answer the question.
Common words: 争取 (zhēng qǔ)、战争 (zhàn zhēng)、竞争 (jìng zhēng)
斗 dǒu / dòu — Chinese peck; to fight; to battle; to struggle; to incite; fight
两只公鸡在院子里争斗。Liǎng zhī gōng jī zài yuàn zi lǐ zhēng dòu.Two roosters are fighting in the yard.
Common words: 战斗 (zhàn dòu)、奋斗 (fèn dòu)、斗争 (dòu zhēng)
搏 bó — fight; combat; seize
运动员们在赛场上奋力拼搏。Yùn dòng yuán men zài sài chǎng shàng fèn lì pīn bó.The athletes struggle hard on the field.
Common words: 脉搏 (mài bó)、搏斗 (bó dòu)、拼搏 (pīn bó)
All 4 characters
Open 战、争、斗 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.