战争
zhànzhēng · HSK 4
war
⚔️ 战 = fight + 争 = contend; together 'fight-contend' = war
战 means battle or fight (note the 戈 spear radical on the right). 争 means to contend or struggle for something. Stacked together, fight + contend gives the sense of armed conflict between sides — war.
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.