HSK Guide

Radical 191to fight, to struggle; combat, a contest

dòu (fourth tone, falling)

to fight, to struggle; combat, a contest

Radical 19110 strokes0 characters

Where the shape comes from

Two figures facing off, hands raised or locked together in a grapple — as direct a picture of a fight as the script has. In the twentieth century’s simplification it was folded into 斗, the unrelated dipper radical, purely for its simpler shape, so that modern 斗争, to struggle, and 搏斗, to wrestle, to grapple, now share their written form with a measuring cup that has nothing to do with combat.

characters filed under

No published character on HSK Guide is filed under this radical yet. Character explorer.