provoke an enemy to battle; dare someone to compete; take on a challenge
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
2 senses · 5 examplesverb
to provoke the enemy to battle; to taunt and goad
formalA military or historical context, implying a deliberate attempt to draw out the opponent.
Gǔ古
dài代
jiàng将
lǐng领
cháng常
zài在
zhèn阵
qián前
tiǎo挑
zhàn战
，
yǐ以
gǔ鼓
wǔ舞
shì士
qì气
。
Ancient generals often provoked the enemy before battle to boost morale.
Tā他
men们
míng鸣
gǔ鼓
tiǎo挑
zhàn战
，
xiǎng想
ràng让
duì对
fāng方
zhǔ主
dòng动
chū出
jī击
。
They beat drums to taunt the enemy, hoping to make them attack first.
verb
to challenge someone to a contest; to dare
neutralUsed in competitive contexts like sports, games, or any kind of rivalry to invite competition.
Tā他
xiàng向
shì世
jiè界
guàn冠
jūn军
fā发
qǐ起
le了
tiǎo挑
zhàn战
。
He challenged the world champion.
Liǎng两
gè个
bān班
zǔ组
hù互
xiāng相
tiǎo挑
zhàn战
，
kàn看
nǎ哪
gè个
shēng生
chǎn产
xiào效
lǜ率
gèng更
gāo高
。
The two work teams challenged each other to see which had higher production efficiency.
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Nǐ你
gǎn敢
tiǎo挑
zhàn战
tā他
xià下
qí棋
ma吗
？
Do you dare to challenge him to a game of chess?