挣 (zhèng): to struggle to get free, to strive to acquire, to make (money)
挣 (zhèng) is a Chinese character meaning “to struggle to get free.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (structural) and 争 (structural). It ranks #1856 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 挣 to fight 争 by hand 扌; 争 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 struggle to get free
- to strive to acquire
- to make (money)
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo fight 争 by hand 扌; 争 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰扌争 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 挣 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 挣扎verb | zhēng zhá | to struggle |
| 挣钱verb | zhèng qián | to make money |
| 挣脱verb | zhèng tuō | to throw off |
| 垂死挣扎 | chuí sǐ zhēng zhá | deathbed struggle |
| 挣得 | zhèng dé | to earn (income) |
| 撒呓挣 | sā yì zheng | (coll.) to talk in one's sleep |
| 挣揣verb | zhèng chuài | see 掙扎|挣扎 |
挣 appears in 7 compound words: 71 as the first character, 14 as the last, and 14 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 挣 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
他挣了一个电话，约朋友晚上一起吃饭。
tā zhēng le yī gě diàn huà , yāo péng yǒu wǎn shǎng yī qǐ chī fàn .
He made a phone call to arrange dinner with his friends that evening.
行动挣钱两不误 参与强控马杜罗行动的美特种兵牟...
háng dòng zhèng qián liǎng bù wù cān yǔ qiáng kòng mǎ dù luó háng dòng de měi tè zhǒng bīng Móu . . .
Balancing Action and Profit: U.S. Special Forces Soldier Involved in the Operation to Detain Maduro...
战力外后陷挣扎像惩罚游戏 后藤骏太由平野惠一牵线转任...
zhàn lì wài hòu xiàn zhèng zhā xiàng chéng fá yóu xì hòu téng jùn tài yóu píng yě huì yī qiān xiàn zhuǎn rèn . . .
Struggling after being cut from the roster, as if it were a punishment game: Shunta Goto switches roles thanks to Keiichi Hirano’s introduction...
...数千元? 法官:“有机会盈利”≠“一定挣钱”
. . . shǔ qiān yuán ? fǎ guān : yǒu jī huì yíng lì yī dìng zhèng qián
...Several thousand yuan? Judge: “A chance to make a profit” ≠ “Guaranteed to make money”
老铺黄金:我们不是只能挣金价上行的钱
lǎo pù huáng jīn : wǒ men bù shì zhī néng zhèng jīn jià shàng háng de qián
Laopu Gold: We Don’t Just Profit from Rising Gold Prices
...价跌至52周低点4.46美元,艰难一年中挣扎
. . . jià diē zhì 5 2 zhōu dī diǎn 4 . 4 6 měi yuán , jiān nán yī nián zhōng zhèng zhā
...the price fell to a 52-week low of $4.46, struggling through a difficult year
我一天挣一百欧元。
Wǒ yī tiān zhèng yī bǎi ōuyuán.
I make €100 a day.
我挣扎着挤出地铁。
Wǒ zhēngzhá zhe jǐchū dìtiě.
I struggled to get out of the subway.
挣的越多钱，就花得越多钱。
Zhēng de yuè duō qián, jiù huā de yuè duō qián.
The more you earn, the more you spend.
他每个月挣50万日元。
Tā měi gè yuè zhēng 50 wàn Rìyuán.
He earns half a million yen a month.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 挣 (zhèng) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 挣 have?
What is the radical of 挣?
What are the components of 挣?
What are common words containing 挣?
What characters sound the same as 挣 (zhèng)?
Is 挣 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 挣 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.