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Contend

On’yomiそう
Kun’yomiあらそ.う・いか.でか
MeaningsContend, Dispute, Argue
JLPT N3 6 strokes #270 most common Grade 4 Radical hook
書き順 · Stroke order

How to write 争

Stroke order is not decoration — it determines how the character looks handwritten and how dictionaries index it.

6 strokes
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分解 · What it is made of

The parts of 争

Almost every kanji is built from a small set of reusable parts. Learn the parts once and you stop memorising thousands of unrelated shapes.

𠂊 top
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Contend
部首 · Radical

The radical of 争

Radical 6 of 214
Hook

The radical is the part a paper dictionary files a kanji under, and it usually hints at meaning. 争 is filed under (hook) — radical number 6 of the 214 in the Kangxi system.

Other kanji built on 亅

練習 · Practice

Drill 争 right now

Three quick games built from this character's real data. Your streak is kept in this browser.

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Contend そう あらそ.う・いか.でか
What does it mean?
Which kanji is it?
熟語 · In real words

Words that use 争

Kanji are almost never met alone. These are the most common words built from this character, ordered by how often they actually appear in Japanese.

戦争 せんそう war; fighting; fierce competition
競争 きょうそう competition; contest; rivalry
紛争 ふんそう dispute; conflict; trouble
争い あらそい fight; dispute; feud
闘争 とうそう fight; battle; combat
斗争 とうそう fight; battle; combat
争点 そうてん point at issue
論争 ろんそう dispute; controversy; debate
抗争 こうそう rivalry; feud; conflict
太平洋戦争 たいへいようせんそう Pacific War (1941-1945)
同音 · Sound-alikes

Kanji that sound like 争

Japanese has far more kanji than syllables, so one reading is shared by many characters. These are the ones you will confuse with 争 — learn them together, not separately.

画数 · 6 strokes

Other 6-stroke kanji

Useful when looking a character up by stroke count — and a common source of visual mix-ups.

頻度 · Frequency

Next in the frequency list

争 is the 270th most common kanji in written Japanese. Learning in frequency order is the fastest route to reading real text.

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質問 · Questions

About the kanji 争

What does the kanji 争 mean?

争 means Contend, Dispute, Argue. It is the 270th most common kanji in written Japanese.

How do you read the kanji 争?

争 is read on'yomi (Chinese-derived) そう; kun'yomi (native Japanese) あらそ.う、いか.でか.

How many strokes does 争 have?

争 is written with 6 strokes. The animated diagram on this page shows the correct order.

What level is the kanji 争?

It appears at JLPT level N3, and Japanese schoolchildren learn it in grade 4.

What is the radical of 争?

The radical of 争 is 亅 (hook), radical number 6 of the 214 Kangxi radicals. The radical is the component a dictionary files the character under, and it usually points at the character's meaning.

What words use the kanji 争?

Common words written with 争 include 戦争 (せんそう, war; fighting; fierce competition); 競争 (きょうそう, competition; contest; rivalry); 紛争 (ふんそう, dispute; conflict; trouble).

Which kanji sound the same as 争?

争 shares a reading with 相 (そう), 総 (そう), 送 (そう), 想 (そう), 早 (そう), among others. Same-sounding kanji are one of the most common sources of confusion in Japanese.

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