斗 dòu fight

源How it came to be

Two characters wearing one shape. The full form was two men grabbing each other by the hair; it was simplified onto a shape that was never a fight, but a long-handled grain scoop.

用How it is used

• Polyphone: dòu for "fight/struggle" - 奋斗 fèndòu "to strive" (positive, common in mottos), 战斗 zhàndòu "to fight, combat," 斗争 dòuzhēng "struggle" (political/ideological register).
• dǒu survives from the old "measuring cup/dipper" sense in set terms like 泰斗 tàidǒu "a leading authority in a field" and 北斗 Běidǒu "the Big Dipper / China's satellite system."
• The fighting sense is always dòu; the dǒu reading only shows up in these older fixed terms.

字Characters built with 斗

• 料 ingredients
• 科 classification
• 斜 slanting
• 抖 to tremble
• 斟 to deliberate
• 魁 chief

词Words with 斗

• 奋斗fèndòuto striveHSK 5
• 战斗zhàndòuto fightHSK 6
• 斗争dòuzhēnga struggleHSK 6
• 搏斗bódòuto wrestleHSK 8
• 斗志dòuzhìwill to fightHSK 8
• 泰斗tàidǒushort for 泰山北斗HSK 9

句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 .