zhēng

挣扎

Word · VerbTraditional掙

struggle

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

1 sense · 4 examples
1.

verb

to struggle; to strive; to exert oneself

Most commonly used in the compound word 挣扎 (zhēng zhá). It implies a difficult, desperate, or exhausting effort against physical or metaphorical constraints.

chuí垂
sǐ死
zhēng挣
zhá扎

a deathbed struggle; a last-ditch effort

Tā他
zhēng挣
zhá扎
zhe着
cóng从
bìng病
chuáng床
shàng上
pá爬
le了
qǐ起
lái来
 。

He struggled to get up from the sickbed.

Show 2 more examples
Xiǎo小
niǎo鸟
zài在
wǎng网
zhōng中
pīn拼
mìng命
zhēng挣
zhá扎
 。

The little bird struggled desperately in the net.

Tā他
zài在
jīng经
jì济
kùn困
jìng境
zhōng中
kǔ苦
kǔ苦
zhēng挣
zhá扎
 。

He is struggling hard in economic difficulties.