争 — “contend / dispute” in Japanese

Grade 4そう, あらそ

Radical ⼅ · radical 6 The building block this kanji is filed under

“contend / dispute” in Japanese is 争, read sou, araso (そう, あらそ). It is a Grade 4 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 4 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 競争 (competition).

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What does 争 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	争
Meaning	contend / dispute
Readings	そう, あらそ
Grade	Grade 4 (Upper)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	競争 (competition)

How to read 争

争 is read sou (そう) or araso (あらそ) depending on the word.

Words with 争

競争
戦争
闘争
紛争

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Kanji read the same way as 争

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Updated: 2026-08-28