抗 (kàng): to resist, to fight, to defy
抗 (kàng) is a Chinese character meaning “to resist.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (structural) and 亢 (structural). It ranks #766 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 抗 fighting 亢 with bare hands 扌; 亢 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- to resist
- to fight
- to defy
Etymology & Origin
ideographicFighting 亢 with bare hands 扌; 亢 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰扌亢 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 抗 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 抗
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 反抗 | fǎn kàng | to resist |
| 抗议 | kàng yì | to protest |
| 抗拒 | kàng jù | to resist |
| 抗争 | kàng zhēng | to resist |
| 抗生素 | kàng shēng sù | antibiotic |
| 违抗 | wéi kàng | to disobey |
| 抗体 | kàng tǐ | (immunology) antibody |
| 抗辩 | kàng biàn | to counter accusations |
| 抗衡 | kàng héng | to compete with |
| 抗原 | kàng yuán | (immunology) antigen |
| 抗癌 | kàng ái | anti-cancer |
| 抵抗力 | dǐ kàng lì | resistance |
| 对抗赛 | duì kàng sài | duel |
| 抗命 | kàng mìng | against orders |
| 抗击 | kàng jī | to resist (an aggressor) |
抗 appears in 91 compound words: 69 as the first character, 9 as the last, and 22 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 抗 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
Second Sino-Japanese War; War of Resistance against Japan; the Anti-Japanese War
to make a last-ditch fight (relying on a strategically inaccessible place or other conditions)
Second Sino-Japanese War; War of Resistance against Japan; the Anti-Japanese War
to make a last-ditch fight (relying on a strategically inaccessible place or other conditions)
Example Sentences
抗照镜子，整理一下自己的仪容。
kàng zhào jìng zǐ , zhěng lǐ yī xià zì jǐ de yí róng .
Face the mirror and tidy up your appearance.
日本抗议中国宣布严控出口军民两用物项的日本企业...
rì běn kàng yì zhōng guó xuān bù yán kòng chū kǒu jūn mín liǎng yòng wù xiàng de rì běn qǐ yè . . .
Japan protests against China's announcement of strict controls on the export of dual-use items by Japanese companies...
...管李嘉诚旗下两大港口 香港政府与长和严正抗议
. . . guǎn lǐ jiā chéng qí xià liǎng dà gǎng kǒu xiāng gǎng zhèng fǔ yǔ cháng hé yán zhèng kàng yì
... The Hong Kong government protested with Changhe solemnly
台积电ADR相对抗跌 较台北交易溢价22% 日月光跌逾2%
tái jī diàn A D R xiāng duì kàng diē jiào tái běi jiāo yì yì jià 2 2 rì yuè guāng diē yú 2
TSMC ADR is relatively resistant to decline, with a 22% premium from Taipei trading, and ASE fell more than 2%
拒绝“末日刷屏”:美国年轻人对抗信息过载,带火老式数码相机与苹果 iPo...
jù jué mò rì shuā bǐng : měi guó nián qīng rén duì kàng xìn xī guò zài , dài huǒ lǎo shì shǔ mǎ xiāng jī yǔ píng guǒ i P o . . .
Refuse to "swipe the screen at the end of the day": young Americans fight against information overload, with fire vintage digital cameras and Apple iPo...
难以抵抗给句子押韵的愿望。
Nányǐ dǐkàng gěi jùzi yāyùn de yuànwàng.
It's hard to resist the wish to make the sentence rhyme.
美国的工人开始抗议。
Měiguó de gōngrén kāishǐ kàngyì.
American workers began to protest.
狗停下了脚步，好像在抗议。
Gǒu tíngxià le jiǎobù, hǎoxiàng zài kàngyì.
The dog stopped walking, as if to complain.
我外公是在抗日战争时被杀的。
Wǒ wàigōng shì zài Kàng Rì Zhànzhēng shí bèi shā de.
My grandfather was murdered during the Second World War.
抗议者威胁要践踏反对者留下的横幅。
Kàngyìzhě wēixié yào jiàntà fǎnduì zhě liúxià de héngfú.
The protesters threatened to stomp on the banners left by their opposition.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 抗 (kàng) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 抗 have?
What is the radical of 抗?
What are the components of 抗?
What are common words containing 抗?
What characters sound the same as 抗 (kàng)?
Is 抗 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 抗 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.