Japanese word

戦

Pronunciation

Romajiikusa

Meaning

  • nounbattle

Example

激しい戦が始まりました。hage shi i ikusa ga haji ma ri ma shi ta

A fierce battle began.

Illustration for 戦 (battle)

More examples

歴史の授業で、昔の戦について学びました。reki shi no ju gyō de mukashi no ikusa ni tsu i te mana bi ma shi ta

In history class, we learned about an old battle.

Core concept

Describes armed conflict as a struggle between opposing sides, from a small clash to a large war.

Common phrases

  • 戦が始まるikusa ga haji ma ru

    a battle begins

  • 戦に負けるikusa ni ma ke ru

    lose a battle

  • 戦に勝つikusa ni ka tsu

    win a battle

  • 戦が終わるikusa ga o wa ru

    a battle ends

  • 戦を避けるikusa o sa ke ru

    avoid a battle

Similar words

戦いtatakai: A struggle between opposing sides that can involve armed combat.
戦闘sentō: Fighting between organized armed forces or groups in a specific engagement.

Definition in Japanese

武力を用いて敵と争うこと。また、その争い。bu ryoku o mochi i te teki to araso u ko to ma ta so no araso i

Word origin

戦 (ikusa, "battle") is an old native Japanese noun, but its exact word formation is uncertain.

Usage tips

  • The noun 戦 (ikusa, "battle") has a literary or historical tone in modern Japanese, while 戦い (tatakai, "fight") is more common in everyday speech.

Other meanings

  • warnoun
  • fightnoun

Related words

Word lists with this word