zhàng
noun #6,215

Measure Word

chǎng

Meanings

  1. 1 battle; war
  2. 2 weaponry

Examples

HSK 2
Zhè chǎng zhàng dǎ le sān nián.
This battle lasted three years.
HSK 5
Tā yībèizi méi dǎ guò zhàng.
He has never fought in a war in his life.
HSK 6
Dǎzhàng shì hěn cánkù de.
Fighting a war is very cruel.

Tips

usage
Most commonly used in the phrase 打仗 (to fight a war/battle). Also appears in 仗义 (to be loyal and righteous).

Components

radical
rén
person (radical, left-side form of 人)
Left person radical - the side-form of . Marks as something a person does or carries: bearing arms, fighting battles, leaning on someone for support. Same radical anchors most interpersonal-action verbs and human-noun characters in modern Chinese (, , , , , ).
phonetic
zhàng
ten-foot measure; staff (phonetic)
Right side supplies the sound - zhàng exact match. originally pictured a hand grasping a long staff, so the staff/weapon imagery aligns nicely with 's 'weaponry, battle, rely on' senses. A rare case where the phonetic doubles as a vivid memory image - person + long-staff = warrior-with-weapon.

Stroke Order

zhàng