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掙

简挣 · 繁掙

Mandarin · pinyin zhēng#

used in 掙扎 zhēng zhá

Mandarin · pinyin zhèng#

to struggle to get free
to strive to acquire
to make (money)

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Characters in this entry

掙: Look up this written character
挣: zhēng · strive, endeavor, struggle

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1 · zheng1

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1character link30same-tone records1source reference

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

掙 · find source passages ↗ · 挣 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 3 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zaang1 · zaang6 · zang1

Cantonese word readings for 掙. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character

to struggle to get free
to struggle to support
to earn; to make
to hold open (with force)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack