交锋 jiāofēng to cross swords
to cross swords; to have a confrontation (with somebody)
How to remember 交锋: 交 hand over + 锋 spear-point = to cross swords.
Characters
How it is used
- To clash / face off - literally cross weapons, mostly figurative for a contest or confrontation: 两队首次交锋 (liǎng duì shǒucì jiāofēng) the two teams meet for the first time.
- Common in sports, debate, and rivalry contexts; a head-to-head encounter between opponents.
- 锋 is the weapon's point; more combative than plain 比赛 (bǐsài, a match).