How to Write 争 (zhēng) — Meaning “to fight, contend, or strive”

Imagine two people fighting over a hook-shaped object at the bottom, while a hand from above tries to grab it. The top part looks like a hand (爫) and the bottom part looks like a hook (亅), so you can remember it as "hand grabbing a hook in a struggle."

Pay attention to the stroke order: first write the top three strokes of the claw (爫), then the vertical hook (亅), and finally the two horizontal lines. A common mistake is making the hook too long or forgetting the two short horizontal strokes below it.

争 (zhēng) means to fight or strive, while 事 (shì) means matter, affair, or thing. Visually, 争 has a claw-like top and a hook with two lines, whereas 事 has a horizontal top and more strokes overall. Remember that 争 involves action and conflict, while 事 is about events or tasks.

争 is commonly used in words like 争取 (zhēng qǔ, to strive for) and 竞争 (jìng zhēng, competition). It appears in many idioms about effort and rivalry, such as 争先恐后 (zhēng xiān kǒng hòu, to vie for the lead). Culturally, 争 reflects the value of active striving but also warns against excessive quarreling, as in 争吵 (zhēng chǎo, to argue).

Common words containing 争 include: 争取 (zhēng qǔ) — to strive for or to fight for; 竞争 (jìng zhēng) — Competition; to compete; 争吵 (zhēng chǎo) — to quarrel or argue.