相あい打うつ

あ

い

う

つ

Meanings

godan verb (-tsu), intransitive verb

fight each other; clash

Describes two parties engaging in combat or conflict with each other. Often used in literary or historical contexts.

両りょう軍ぐんの兵へい士したちが激はげしく相あい打うった。
The soldiers of both armies fiercely clashed with each other.
彼かれらは剣けんを交まじえて相あい打うつことになった。
They ended up fighting each other with swords.

Written forms

相あい打うつ
Standard kanji form for 'to fight each other'.
相あい撃うつ
Variant kanji form, less common but still used.
相あい搏うつ
Rare kanji form using 搏 (strike).

Kanji

相inter-, mutual, together
打strike, hit, knock
撃beat, attack, defeat
搏seize, spring upon, strike

Similar words

戦たたかう
戦う is a general verb for 'to fight' or 'to battle', while 相打つ specifically emphasizes mutual combat between two parties.
打うち合あう
打ち合う means 'to exchange blows' or 'to fire at each other', focusing on the exchange of strikes or shots, whereas 相打つ is more about the act of fighting each other as a whole.

Etymology

Compound of 相 (ai, 'mutual') + 打つ (utsu, 'to strike'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the combination naturally yields the meaning 'to strike each other'.