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)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to incite"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to incite", including 斗 (dǒu / dòu), 激 (jī). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to incite" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 斗 (dǒu / dòu), 激 (jī) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span dǒu, dòu, jī — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 斗 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 斗 dǒu / dòuChinese peck; to fight; to battle; to struggle; to incite; fightUseful words: 战斗, 奋斗
- 激 jīto arouse; to incite; to excite; to stimulate; sharp; fierceUseful words: 激动, 刺激
Common words for these 2 "to incite" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 斗 (dǒu / dòu) — so "to incite" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
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激动jī dòngto move emotionally; to stir up (emotions); to excite刺激cì jīto provoke; to irritate; to upset; to stimulate激烈jī liè(of competition or fighting) intense; fierce; (of pain) acute; (of an expression of opinion) impassioned
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 2 ways to say "to incite".
激 jī — to arouse; to incite; to excite; to stimulate; sharp; fierce
听到这个消息，他非常激动。Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā fēi cháng jī dòng.He was very excited to hear this news.
Common words: 激动 (jī dòng)、刺激 (cì jī)、激烈 (jī liè)
All 2 characters
Open 斗、激 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.