斗 (dǒu): abbr. for the Big Dipper constellation 北斗星, dry measure for grain equal to ten 升 or one-tenth of a 石, decaliter
斗 (dǒu) is a Chinese character meaning “abbr. for the big dipper constellation 北斗星.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 十 (structural). It ranks #580 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 斗 a hand holding a measuring dipper. Its radical form 斗 (dipper) appears in many related characters such as 料 (liào, material), 斜 (xié, inclined).
Definitions
- abbr. for the Big Dipper constellation 北斗星
- dry measure for grain equal to ten 升 or one-tenth of a 石
- decaliter
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA hand holding a measuring dipper
Stroke Order
Practice writing 斗 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 斗
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 战斗noun/verb | zhàn dòu | to fight | 6 |
| 斗争verb/noun | dòu zhēng | a struggle | 6 |
| 奋斗verb | fèn dòu | to strive | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 打斗 | dǎ dòu | to fight |
| 决斗 | jué dòu | to duel |
| 斗牛 | dòu niú | bullfighting |
| 格斗 | gé dòu | to wrestle |
| 斗士 | dòu shì | warrior |
| 搏斗 | bó dòu | to wrestle |
| 争斗 | zhēng dòu | to struggle |
| 战斗机 | zhàn dòu jī | fighter (aircraft) |
| 斗篷 | dǒu peng | cloak |
| 斗殴 | dòu ōu | to brawl |
| 斗志 | dòu zhì | will to fight |
| 烟斗 | yān dǒu | (smoking) pipe |
| 北斗 | běi dǒu | Great Bear |
| 好斗 | hào dòu | to be warlike |
| 斗鸡 | dòu jī | cock fighting |
斗 appears in 100 compound words: 36 as the first character, 54 as the last, and 10 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 斗 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (28)
lit. a chicken and a bottle of wine (idiom); fig. ready to make an offering to the deceased, or to entertain guests
lit. a chicken and a bottle of wine (idiom); fig. ready to make an offering to the deceased, or to entertain guests
Showing 12 of 28 idioms containing 斗.
Example Sentences
斗字由4笔画组成，结构很巧妙。
dǒu zì yóu bǐ huà zǔ chéng , jié gòu hěn qiǎo miào .
The character "斗" consists of four strokes and has a very ingenious structure.
陈伟智:人生还在战斗的九把刀─《功夫》是不是你还期待的那个模...
chén wěi zhì : rén shēng hái zài zhàn dǒu de jiǔ bǎ dāo gōng fū shì bù shì nǐ hái qī dài de nà gè mó . . .
Chen Weizhi: The nine knives that are still fighting in life - "Kung Fu" is the model you are still looking forward to...
激烈4轮PK决胜 彰化慈航宫年度总斗首出炉
jī liè 4 lún P K jué shèng zhāng huà cí háng gōng nián dù zǒng dǒu shǒu chū lú
Fierce 4 rounds of PK decisive Changhua Cihang Palace's annual general fight was released
斗湖1小时豪雨引发大水患 轿车险灭顶多路中...
dǒu hú 1 xiǎo shí háo yǔ yǐn fā dà shuǐ huàn jiào chē xiǎn miè dǐng duō lù zhōng . . .
Tawau 1-hour heavy rain caused heavy flooding, and the car was almost destroyed on the road...
彰化竹塘慈航宫总斗首之争 第三轮PK分胜负 桃园人拿下了
zhāng huà zhú táng cí háng gōng zǒng dǒu shǒu zhī zhēng dì sān lún P K fēn shèng fù táo yuán rén ná xià le
Changhua Zhutang Cihang Palace overall battle third round PK point winner Taoyuan people won
难民与饥饿作斗争。
Nànmín yǔ jī'è zuò dòuzhēng.
The refugees struggled against hunger.
警察驱散了这场斗殴。
Jǐngchá qūsàn le zhè chǎng dòu'ōu.
The police broke up the fight.
囚犯们像疯子一样互相殴斗。
Qiúfàn men xiàng fēngzi yīyàng hùxiāng ōudòu.
The prisoners fought one another like so many mad people.
汤姆在战斗中死了。
Tāngmǔ zài zhàndòu zhōng sǐ le.
Tom died in combat.
汤姆分不清游戏与斗争。
Tāngmǔ fēn bù qīng yóuxì yǔ dòuzhēng.
Tom couldn't tell the difference between play and struggle.
Character Family
斗 Radical Family — Characters sharing the dipper radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 斗 (dǒu) mean in Chinese?
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What is the radical of 斗?
What are the components of 斗?
What are common words containing 斗?
What characters sound the same as 斗 (dǒu)?
Is 斗 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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