争 (zhēng) is a Chinese character meaning “to contend”. It is written from ⺈ (top form of 刀 (knife); a short slash with a turning stroke tucked under it) and 彐 (snout radical; a three-stroke block closed on the right) and 亅 (vertical hook), one above the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “to fight over something”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
⺈ + 彐 + 亅
Top–bottom structure
- ⺈ claw-top form; the flattened top of 刀 seen in 争, 色, 龟 unknown
- 彐 snout radical; a three-stroke block closed on the right · jì unknown
- 亅 vertical hook unknown
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（IDS 候选逐笔核对 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺：⺈=笔画1-2，彐=笔画3-5，亅=笔画6）
Memory aid
A hand comes down from above (⺈) and another hand grips from below (彐), and the hooked line (亅) between them is pulled tight — two hands fighting over the same thing.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 战争zhàn zhēngwar; warfare争 = zhēng
- 争夺zhēng duóto fight over; to contend for; to compete for争 = zhēng
- 竞争jìng zhēngto compete; competition争 = zhēng
Go deeper
All readings
to contend
to contend; to fight for; to compete; to argue
为了得到或达到目的而与人相争、争夺；也指争论。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 战争zhàn zhēngwar; warfare争 = zhēng
- 争夺zhēng duóto fight over; to contend for; to compete for争 = zhēng
- 竞争jìng zhēngto compete; competition争 = zhēng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 争 mean?
争 (zhēng) means to contend; to fight for; to compete; to argue.
How do you pronounce 争?
It is pronounced zhēng.
What parts is 争 made of?
⺈ (top form of 刀 (knife); a short slash with a turning stroke tucked under it) and 彐 (snout radical; a three-stroke block closed on the right) and 亅 (vertical hook), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（IDS 候选逐笔核对 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺：⺈=笔画1-2，彐=笔画3-5，亅=笔画6）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 争 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 争?
爪. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 争?
Common ones are 战争 and 争夺. The reading of 争 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.