善ぜん戦せん

ぜ

ん

せ

ん

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

善戦する · noun or participle which takes 'suru'

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	善ぜん戦せんする	善ぜん戦せんしない
Polite	善ぜん戦せんします	善ぜん戦せんしません
Past polite	善ぜん戦せんしました	善ぜん戦せんしませんでした
Past	善ぜん戦せんした	善ぜん戦せんしなかった
Te-form	善ぜん戦せんして	善ぜん戦せんしないで
Desire	善ぜん戦せんしたい	善ぜん戦せんしたくない
Potential	善ぜん戦せんできる	善ぜん戦せんできない
Passive	善ぜん戦せんされる	善ぜん戦せんされない
Causative	善ぜん戦せんさせる	善ぜん戦せんさせない
Causative passive	善ぜん戦せんさせられる	善ぜん戦せんさせられない
Volitional	善ぜん戦せんしよう
Polite volitional	善ぜん戦せんしましょう
Imperative	善ぜん戦せんしろ	善ぜん戦せんするな
Conditional	善ぜん戦せんすれば	善ぜん戦せんしなければ
Tara conditional	善ぜん戦せんしたら	善ぜん戦せんしなかったら

Meanings

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

fight bravely; put up a good fight

Used when someone fights well against a stronger opponent, often despite losing. Common in sports, competitions, and metaphorical struggles.

わがチームは優ゆう勝しょう候こう補ほに善ぜん戦せんした。
Our team fought bravely against the championship favorite.
彼かれは格かく上うえの相あい手てに善ぜん戦せんしたが、判はん定てい負まけした。
He put up a good fight against a higher-ranked opponent but lost by decision.

See all 7 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈相あい手て〉に善ぜん戦せんするto put up a good fight against 〈相手〉
日本にほん代だい表ひょうは強きょう豪ごうドイツに善ぜん戦せんした。
The Japanese team put up a good fight against powerhouse Germany.
善ぜん戦せんするも敗やぶれるto fight bravely but ultimately lose
彼かれは善ぜん戦せんするも、最さい後ごは一いっ点てん差さで敗やぶれた。
He fought bravely but ultimately lost by a single point.
〈人ひと〉の善ぜん戦せんが光ひかる〈人〉's valiant effort stands out
格かく下した相あい手てへの若わか手て選せん手しゅの善ぜん戦せんが光ひかった。
The young player's brave performance against a stronger opponent stood out.

Kanji

善virtuous, good, goodness
戦war, battle, match

Related words

健けん闘とうN1
健闘 praises any strong effort in a contest, while 善戦 specifically implies fighting bravely against a stronger opponent, often while losing.
奮ふん戦せん
奮戦 emphasizes desperate, all-out struggle in battle or competition, whereas 善戦 focuses on performing impressively despite being the underdog.
苦く戦せん
善戦 describes fighting well despite a disadvantage with a positive nuance, while 苦戦 emphasizes the difficulty and hardship of the struggle itself.

Don't confuse with

苦く戦せん
苦戦 means simply struggling or having a hard time (regardless of how well one performs), while 善戦 means fighting admirably even in a losing effort.

Word family

善ぜん戦せん苦く闘とう
fighting well against the odds; putting up a good fight

Etymology

Compound of 善 (good, virtuous) and 戦 (fight, battle). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has been used since at least the early 20th century to describe a praiseworthy effort in a losing cause.