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喧嘩を売る (けんかをうる) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

喧けん嘩かを売うる

け

ん

か

を

う

る

Meanings

1

expression, godan verb (-ru)

pick a fight; pick a quarrel

Idiomatic phrase meaning to provoke someone into a fight or argument, often through aggressive words or behavior.

あいつはいつも喧けん嘩かを売うるような口くちのきき方かたをする。
That guy always talks in a way that picks a fight.
酔よっ払ぱらいに喧けん嘩か

を

売う

ら

れ

て

困こま

っ

た

。

I was troubled when a drunk tried to pick a fight with me.

Written forms

喧けん嘩かを売うる
Standard kanji spelling for the phrase.
ケンカを売うる
Katakana spelling of 喧嘩, common in casual writing.

Kanji

喧noisy, boisterous
嘩noisy
売sell

Similar words

喧けん嘩か
喧嘩 is the noun meaning 'fight' or 'quarrel'; 喧嘩を売る is the verb phrase meaning 'to pick a fight'.
喧けん嘩かを買かう
喧嘩を買う means 'to take up a fight' or 'to accept a challenge to fight', the opposite action of 喧嘩を売る.

Etymology

The phrase literally means 'to sell a fight', using 売る (to sell) metaphorically to mean 'to provoke' or 'to offer' a fight. The exact origin is uncertain, but it is a common idiomatic expression.