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 "to fight"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to fight", including 战 (zhàn), 斗 (dǒu / dòu), 抗 (kàng). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to fight" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 战 (zhàn), 斗 (dǒu / dòu), 抗 (kàng) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span zhàn, dǒu, dòu, kàng — 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
- 斗 dǒu / dòuChinese peck; to fight; to battle; to struggle; to incite; fightUseful words: 战斗, 奋斗
- 抗 kàngto resist; to fight; to defyUseful words: 抗议, 对抗
Common words for these 3 "to fight" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 战 (zhàn) — so "to 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抗议kàng yìto protest; protest对抗duì kàngto withstand; to resist; to stand off; antagonism抵抗dǐ kàngto resist; resistance
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 3 ways to say "to fight".
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)
抗 kàng — to resist; to fight; to defy
多锻炼可以增强身体的抵抗力。Duō duàn liàn kě yǐ zēng qiáng shēn tǐ de dǐ kàng lì.Exercising more can strengthen the body resistance.
Common words: 抗议 (kàng yì)、对抗 (duì kàng)、抵抗 (dǐ kàng)
All 3 characters
Open 战、斗、抗 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.