斗 (dòu): to fight; to struggle

Meanings

1 to fight; to struggle
2 to contend; to compete
3 to condemn; to censure (esp. in political struggle sessions)
4 to put together; to come together

Characters

斗

dòu

to fight; to struggle

Simplified shape is borrowed; the traditional 鬥 depicts two figures grappling face to face.

Examples

士兵在战场上英勇战斗。

Shìbīng zài zhànchǎng shàng yīngyǒng zhàndòu.

Soldiers fought bravely on the battlefield.

年轻人要为梦想奋斗。

Niánqīngrén yào wèi mèngxiǎng fèndòu.

Young people should strive to achieve their dreams.

吃完饭一家人总要斗地主几局。

Chī wán fàn yìjiārén zǒng yào dòudìzhǔ jǐ jú.

After dinner the family always plays a few rounds of Dou Dizhu.

Tips

usage

dòu covers fighting and competing in many flavors: 战斗 (combat), 斗争 (struggle), 奋斗 (to strive), 格斗 (hand-to-hand), 搏斗 (to wrestle), 决斗 (to duel), 斗气 (to bicker out of pique), 斗嘴 (to quarrel). For the dipper / measure / pipe-bowl senses, switch to the dǒu reading.

culture

斗地主 ('Fight the Landlord') is the dominant three-player card game in China — its name fuses revolutionary-era language with everyday card-table use. The wider 斗-genre family also gave rise to 宫斗 (harem-intrigue dramas) and 宅斗 (household-scheming web fiction).

Components

pictograph

斗 dòu

dipper; measuring ladle

Pictograph of a long-handled grain ladle (one 斗 ≈ ten 升). The two short top strokes are the grain piled in the scoop; the long downstroke is the handle. Filed as Kangxi radical 68, indexing scoop-like vessels and graded measures: 料 (material / to measure), 斜 (slanting — the angle of a tilted ladle), 斟 (to pour out a drink). The simplified character also doubles as the unrelated 鬥 (fight), giving it the second reading dòu.

Radical

Dipper Kangxi #68

Pictograph of a long-handled ladle used as a grain measure (one 斗 ≈ 10 升). As a radical it indexes scoop-like vessels and graded measures: 料 (material/measure), 斜 (slanting, the angle of a tilted ladle), 斟 (pour out a drink), 斡 (turn). The simplified character also writes the unrelated word 鬥 (fight).