掙
strive, endeavor, struggle
Strokes11
Readings
On'yomi
- ソウ
- ショウ
Kun'yomi
- さ.す
Meaning
掙 centers on putting out effort against resistance: striving, endeavoring, or struggling to achieve something.
Study
Etymology
掙 combines 扌 (hand) with 爭, which likely contributes both sound and the idea of contention or pulling against something, suggesting a hand engaged in struggle.
Meaning mnemonic
The hand radical 扌 beside 爭 (a shape associated with conflict) suggests a hand pushing against opposition: striving and struggling.
Reading mnemonic
For ソウ, imagine a hand struggling to sew a tough fabric: sew -> ソウ, and the effort matches the striving meaning.