争
争 — Contend
contend, dispute, argue
On’yomiソウ (sou)
Kun’yomiあらそう (arasou)
Kun’yomiいかでか (ikadeka)
Stroke order (6 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 争
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 戦争 | せんそう sensou | war; fighting; fierce competition |
| 競争 | きょうそう kyousou | competition; contest; rivalry |
| 紛争 | ふんそう funsou | dispute; conflict; trouble |
| 争い | あらそい arasoi | fight; dispute; feud |
| 闘争 | とうそう tousou | fight; battle; combat |
| 抗争 | こうそう kousou | rivalry; feud; conflict |
Study notes
争 is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 6 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 4), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #271 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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