挣扎

• Pinyin: zhēng zhá
• Hanzi breakdown: 挣 = 扌+ 争 (hand + contend — struggling with hands); 扎 = 扌+ 乚 (hand piercing — struggling movement)

Meaning

To struggle; to fight to break free. Physical or figurative efforts to escape difficulty, constraint, or hardship.

Can describe physical struggling (drowning, being restrained) or metaphorical battles (financial hardship, inner conflict, fighting illness). Conveys desperate, sustained effort against adversity.

Examples

1. 落水者在河中拼命挣扎，试图抓住岸边的树枝。 The person who fell into the water struggled desperately in the river, trying to grab a branch on the bank.
2. 他在贫困线上挣扎了多年，终于靠自己的努力改变了命运。 He struggled on the poverty line for years and finally changed his fate through his own efforts.
3. 病人在生死边缘挣扎了一周，最终奇迹般地康复了。 The patient hovered between life and death for a week, then miraculously recovered.

Usage Guide

Context: adversity, survival, personal struggle

Tone: intense

Do Say

• 企业在经济寒冬中艰难挣扎，努力维持运营。(The enterprise struggled painfully through the economic winter, striving to maintain operations.)
• 她内心挣扎了很久，最终决定放弃这份工作。(She struggled internally for a long time before finally deciding to give up this job.)

Don't Say

• 我挣扎着起床 — unless describing genuine difficulty (illness, exhaustion); for mere reluctance, use 勉强 or 好不容易

Origin & History

挣 (struggle/strive) + 扎 (pierce/struggle) — forceful striving against resistance

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal