交锋
jiāo fēng · HSK 7
to have a confrontation
⚔️ 交 cross + 锋 blade-edge = blades crossing, a confrontation
锋 is the sharp point or cutting edge of a weapon (its 钅 metal radical marks it as steel). Pair it with 交 (to cross, to exchange) and you get two edges meeting: to cross swords, to clash.
交 — top 亠 + 父-like crossed legs
Originally a pictograph of a person standing with legs crossed, showing the idea of crossing or intersecting. From this concrete image, the meaning extended to abstract senses like 'exchange,' 'interact,' and 'hand over.' Modern uses such as 交流 (exchange) and 交通 (traffic) all trace back to this core notion of crossing.