挣扎

掙扎
zhēngzhá
verb HSK 7-9 #3,661

Meanings

  1. 1 to struggle
  2. 2 to wrestle
  3. 3 to flounder

Examples

HSK 3
Tā zài tòngkǔ zhōng zhēngzhá le hěn jiǔ.
He struggled in pain for a long time.
HSK 7-9
Yú zài wǎng lǐ pīnmìng zhēngzhá.
The fish struggled desperately in the net.

Tips

usage
挣扎 can be physical (struggling to break free) or figurative (struggling with hardship, inner conflict). Often paired with ... (struggling in/amid...).
mistakes
Don't confuse (zhēng, to struggle) with (zhèng, to earn money as in 挣钱). Same character, different tone and meaning.

Stroke Order

zhèng
zhā