争气
zhēng qì · HSK 7
to work hard for sth
💪 争 contend/fight + 气 spirit/pride = fight for your pride, refuse to fall short
Decomposes as 争 (contend, compete) + 气 (spirit, breath, pride). The two together mean striving so you bring credit and dont let others down. Often said of a kid who works hard to make the family proud: 为家里争气.
争 — hand 爫 (claw) over hand 又 pulling 亅
争 depicts two hands grabbing the same object from above and below, with a vertical stroke representing the contested item between them. The image of two parties tugging at one thing gave rise to its meanings of 'to contend,' 'to fight for,' or 'to dispute.' The modern simplified form streamlines the older 爭.
气 — steam/vapor radical 气
Originally a pictograph of rising vapor or clouds drifting in the sky, depicting curling streams of air. The character came to mean breath, air, and by extension vital energy or 'qi.' The simplified form 气 keeps the original outline; the traditional 氣 added 米 (rice) to suggest steam rising from cooking grain.