争
zhēng
to strive for
to vie for; to argue or debate; deficient or lacking (dialect); how or what (literary)
knife (⺈) + grasping hands (彐) + hook (亅) = to vie and struggle
The image is of two hands pulling at opposite ends of an object, with a hook at the bottom anchoring the struggle. It captures the physical tension of competing over something neither side will release.
两个孩子在争同一个玩具。
liǎng gè hái zi zài zhēng tóng yī gè wán jù 。
Two children are fighting over the same toy.
他们为了谁对谁错争了很久。
tā men wèi le shéi duì shéi cuò zhēng le hěn jiǔ 。
They argued for a long time over who was right and who was wrong.
Words with 争
争面子
zhēng miàn zi
to do (sb) proud; to be a credit to (one's school etc)
郑人争年
zhèng rén zhēng nián
a futile quarrel
阶级斗争
jiē jí dòu zhēng
class struggle
鹬蚌相争
yù bàng xiāng zhēng
abbr. for 鷸蚌相爭，漁翁得利|鹬蚌相争，渔翁得利[yu4 bang4 xiang1 zheng1 , yu2 weng1 de2 li4]
鹬蚌相争，渔翁得利
yù bàng xiāng zhēng , yú wēng dé lì
lit. when the snipe and the clam grapple with each other, the fisherman catches them both (idiom)
斗争性
dòu zhēng xìng
assertiveness
鸦片战争
yā piàn zhàn zhēng
the Opium Wars of 1840-1842 and 1860-1861
龙争虎斗
lóng zhēng hǔ dòu
lit. the dragon wars, the tiger battles (idiom); fierce battle between giants
丁卯战争
dīng mǎo zhàn zhēng
first Manchu invasion of Korea (1627)
不正当竞争
bù zhèng dàng jìng zhēng
unfair competition
不争
bù zhēng
widely known
不争气
bù zhēng qì
to be disappointing