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斗争 meaning in English

dòuzhēng

a struggle; fight

HSK 6verbnounTraditional 鬥爭10 strokes

Meaning of 斗争

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

dòuzhēng
  1. a struggle
  2. fight
  3. battle

How to use 斗争

斗争 is a formal word for a sustained struggle against a person, force, or problem, often in political, social, or moral contexts. It works as a verb, often with 和/跟/与...斗争 or 同...作斗争, and as a noun. Example: 他和病魔斗争了三年。(Tā hé bìngmó dòuzhēng le sān nián.) He fought the illness for three years.

斗 (dòu) means to fight and 争 (zhēng) means to contend or strive for something. Put two kinds of fighting together and you get 斗争, a long, serious struggle.

Common mistake: Learners often use 斗争 for a personal effort toward a goal. For working hard to achieve something, use 奋斗 (fèndòu). 斗争 is for fighting against something. Also note the tone: 斗 here is fourth tone dòu, not third tone dǒu as in 一斗米 (a measure of rice).

斗争 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

汤tāng姆mǔ分fēn不bù清qīng游yóu戏xì与yǔ斗dòu争zhēng。
Tom couldn't tell the difference between play and struggle.
我wǒ和hé睡shuì魔mó作zuò了le斗dòu争zhēng。
I fought against sleep.
我wǒ们men在zài跟gēn时shí间jiān斗dòu争zhēng。
We're fighting against time.
斗dòu争zhēng结jié束shù了le。
The fight is over.
在zài权quán利lì斗dòu争zhēng中zhōng，非fēi友yǒu即jí敌dí。
In a struggle of power, if you aren't with us, you're against us.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

斗 dòu · to fight · 4 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4

争 zhēng · to strive for · 6 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

Related words

Words that share a character with 斗争.

争取zhēngqǔto fight for; to strive for
战争zhànzhēngwar; conflict
战斗zhàndòuto fight; to engage in combat
争论zhēnglùnto argue; to debate
奋斗fèndòuto strive; to struggle
竞争jìngzhēngto compete; competition
争议zhēngyìcontroversy; dispute
争夺zhēngduóto fight over; to contest
争吵zhēngchǎoto quarrel; dispute
抗争kàngzhēngto resist; to make a stand and fight (against)
争执zhēngzhíto dispute; to disagree
搏斗bódòuto wrestle; to fight; to struggle

Questions about 斗争

What does 斗争 mean?

斗争 (dòuzhēng) means "a struggle; fight" and is used as a verb and noun.

How do you write 斗争?

斗争 is made of 2 characters: 斗 (4 strokes), 争 (6 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.

Is 斗争 an HSK word?

Yes. 斗争 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 斗争 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 斗争 is written 鬥爭.

What is the difference between 斗争 and 竞争?

竞争 (jìngzhēng) is competition between rivals for the same prize, like companies competing for customers. 斗争 is a harder, more hostile struggle against an opponent or a bad situation.

Can I use 斗争 for a fight between two kids?

It would sound too heavy and formal. For a physical fight, say 打架 (dǎjià). For an argument, say 吵架 (chǎojià) or 争论 (zhēnglùn).

清Previous in HSK 6qīng