接せっ戦せん

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せ

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Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 20,000

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

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

Meanings

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

close contest; close match; close race

Used when competitors, teams, or candidates are very close in score, votes, or ability. Common with 試合, 選挙, 優勝争い, and phrases such as 接戦になる, 接戦を制する, 接戦を繰り広げる.

決けっ勝しょうは一いっ点てん差さの接せっ戦せんになった。
The final became a close match decided by one point.
上じょう位い三さんチームが優ゆう勝しょう争あらそいで接せっ戦せんしている。
The top three teams are in a close race for the championship.

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

close combat; close-quarters fighting

Literal military or battle-related use for fighting at close range. In modern ordinary Japanese, 接近戦 or 白兵戦 is often clearer for this meaning.

古ふるい戦せん記きには、兵へい士しが敵てきと接せっ戦せんする場ば面めんが描えがかれている。
Old war chronicles depict scenes where soldiers fight the enemy at close quarters.

See all 31 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈事こと〉が接せっ戦せんになるfor a contest to turn into a close race
今こん回かいの選せん挙きょは接せっ戦せんになっている。
This election has turned into a close race.
接せっ戦せんを制せいするto win a close match
延えん長ちょう戦せんの末すえ、接せっ戦せんを制せいした。
After extra time, they won the close match.
接せっ戦せんを繰くり広ひろげるto put on a close, back-and-forth contest
両りょうチームは最さい後ごまで接せっ戦せんを繰くり広ひろげた。
Both teams fought a close match right to the end.
接せっ戦せんの末すえafter a hard-fought close contest
接せっ戦せんの末すえ、僅きん差さで勝しょう利りした。
After a close fight, they won by a narrow margin.

Kanji

接touch, contact, adjoin
戦war, battle, match

Related words· 8

競せり合あい sense 1
競り合い is a general, conversational term for a close back-and-forth struggle, while 接戦 is the standard word used in sports, election, and news reporting.
僅きん差さ sense 1
僅差 emphasizes the small size of the margin between competitors, whereas 接戦 describes the contest itself as being closely fought.
激げき戦せん sense 1
激戦 means a fierce, hard-fought battle or contest that can still be one-sided, while 接戦 specifically means the sides are evenly matched.
投とう手しゅ戦せん
投手戦 specifically refers to a low-scoring baseball game decided by strong pitching, while 接戦 more broadly means any close contest in any sport.

Show 4 more

シーソーゲーム
接戦 means a close, tightly contested match in general, while シーソーゲーム specifically evokes the lead swinging back and forth repeatedly.
デッドヒート
接戦 is the everyday Japanese word for a close contest, while デッドヒート borrows from English 'dead heat' and often carries a more dramatic, sports-commentary flavor.
熱ねっ戦せん
接戦 stresses a close score or neck-and-neck outcome, while 熱戦 emphasizes the intensity and passion of the contest itself.
混こん戦せん
接戦 simply means the scores or positions are very close, whereas 混戦 also implies a chaotic scramble with many contenders mixed together.

Opposites

圧あっ勝しょうN1sense 1
圧勝 is a landslide or lopsided victory, the opposite of 接戦, which describes a contest decided by only a narrow margin.

Don't confuse with

接せっ近きん戦せん sense 2
接近戦 is the clear modern term for close-range physical combat, while 接戦 is usually understood as a close contest (in sports or elections) unless a military context makes the older 'close combat' sense obvious.

Counted with

回かいN4
Used to count the number of close matches or races, e.g. 接戦が2回あった (there were two close matches).

Word family

接せっ戦せん州しゅう
battleground state; swing state

Etymology

A Sino-Japanese compound: 接 means contact, joining, or approaching, and 戦 means battle, match, or contest. The spelling directly reflects both the literal close-combat sense and the extended sense of a closely fought contest.