战 zhàn war
war; fighting; battle
How to remember 战: 占 occupy + 戈 dagger = war. Two brothers occupy the sofa with pillow forts and a plastic dagger each, and Mum sighs at the endless war.
Component breakdown
战 = 占 occupy + 戈 dagger
- 占 occupy
- ⺊ fortune teller
- 口 mouth
- 戈 dagger
Two brothers occupy the sofa with pillow forts and a plastic dagger each, and Mum sighs at the endless war.
How it is used
- 战 is the root for war/battle/fighting, appearing across both literal military words and figurative ones.
- 战争 (zhànzhēng) is the noun "war"; 作战 (zuòzhàn) means to engage in combat.
- 挑战 (tiǎozhàn) "to challenge / a challenge" is extremely common in everyday non-military speech: 接受挑战 (jiēshòu tiǎozhàn) - accept a challenge.
- 战胜 (zhànshèng) means to defeat/overcome (an opponent, or an abstract difficulty), and 冷战 (lěngzhàn) is the specific historical term "Cold War".
Words with 战
- 挑战tiǎozhànto challengeHSK 5
- 战争zhànzhēngwarHSK 6
- 战斗zhàndòuto fightHSK 6
- 战胜zhànshèngto prevail overHSK 6
- 作战zuòzhàncombatHSK 8
- 冷战lěngzhànCold WarHSK 8
- 备战bèizhànprepared against warHSK 8
- 战友zhànyǒucomrade-in-armsHSK 8
- 战场zhànchǎngbattlefieldHSK 8
- 战士zhànshìfighterHSK 8
- 战役zhànyìmilitary campaignHSK 8
- 战术zhànshùtacticsHSK 8
- 战略zhànlüèstrategyHSK 8
Example sentences
- 他们赢了这次战斗，但输了这场战争 Tāmen yíngle zhè cì zhàndòu, dàn shūle zhè chǎng zhànzhēngThey won the battle but lost the war .