鬭 meaning and stroke order
To struggle, to fight; woodwork, carpentry
How to write 鬭, stroke by stroke
24 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 鬭
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- variant of 鬥|斗[dou4]
How 鬭 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. To fight 鬥 with an axe 斲; 鬥 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 鬥 (to struggle), shared by 6 characters on this site.
How to remember 鬭
Picture two people fighting 鬥 while one swings an axe 斲 inside the frame. The 鬥 outer part also hints at the sound dòu.
鬭 is a rare variant of 鬥, and in modern simplified Chinese both are written 斗 (dòu). You will mostly see 鬭 in older texts, classical writing, or calligraphy rather than everyday use. Example: 戰鬭 (zhàndòu) means battle, written 战斗 in simplified Chinese.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 斗 here as dǒu, the measuring cup sense, but the fighting meaning is always fourth tone dòu. Also do not confuse the 鬥 frame with 門 (mén, door), which has a different top.
Questions about 鬭
How many strokes are in 鬭?
鬭 is written with 24 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 鬭 mean?
鬭 (dòu) means to struggle, to fight; woodwork, carpentry.
How do you pronounce 鬭?
鬭 is pronounced dòu, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 鬭?
The radical of 鬭 is 鬥, which carries the idea of "to struggle". Dictionaries list 鬭 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 鬭?
鬭 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 斗, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Should I learn to write 鬭 for daily use?
No. It is an old variant, and people today write 斗 in simplified Chinese or 鬥 in traditional Chinese. Recognizing it is enough for reading older material.
What common words use the fighting meaning of dòu?
Common words include 斗争 (dòuzhēng, struggle), 战斗 (zhàndòu, battle), and 奋斗 (fèndòu, to strive). In old texts any of these may appear with 鬭.