斗
dòu
to fight
to struggle; to condemn; to censure; to contend; to put together; coming together; variant of 鬭|斗[dou4]; variant of 鬥|斗[dou4]
a picture of 斗 → a dipper repurposed to mean struggle
斗 is an ancient pictograph of a ladle or dipper used to measure grain — its strokes trace the scoop and handle. It was borrowed to write the homophone 鬥 (to fight), so the fighting sense is etymologically borrowed rather than composed.
两只猫在院子里互相斗了很久。
liǎng zhī māo zài yuàn zi lǐ hù xiāng dòu le hěn jiǔ。
Two cats fought with each other in the yard for a long time.
他决心和病魔斗到底，不轻易放弃。
tā jué xīn hé bìng mó dòu dào dǐ，bù qīng yì fàng qì。
He is determined to struggle against the illness to the end and not give up easily.
Words with 斗
钩心斗角
gōu xīn dòu jiǎo
variant of 勾心鬥角|勾心斗角[gou1 xin1 dou4 jiao3]
防毒斗篷
fáng dú dǒu péng
protective cape
阿斗
ā dǒu
(fig.) weak and inept person
阶级斗争
jiē jí dòu zhēng
class struggle
只鸡斗酒
zhī jī dǒu jiǔ
lit. a chicken and a bottle of wine (idiom); fig. ready to make an offering to the deceased, or to entertain guests
斗拳
dòu quán
boxing
斗口齿
dòu kǒu chǐ
to quarrel
斗嘴
dòu zuǐ
to quarrel
斗地主
dòu dì zhǔ
dou dizhu ("fight the landlord") (card game)
斗士
dòu shì
warrior
斗志
dòu zhì
will to fight
斗志昂扬
dòu zhì áng yáng
having high fighting spirit