‘斗争’ (dòu zhēng) literally combines ‘斗’ (dòu), meaning ‘to fight’ or ‘to contend’, and ‘争’ (zhēng), meaning ‘to compete’ or ‘to vie for’. Together, they form a compound expressing active, often intense struggle—whether physical, ideological, social, or biological. While historically prominent in political discourse, the word remains widely used in neutral or descriptive contexts, especially in biology, ecology, and everyday observation of behavior.

In natural science contexts, ‘斗争’ commonly describes survival-related conflict among animals—such as competition for food, mates, or territory—or between species and environmental pressures. It carries no inherent moral judgment; it simply denotes necessary, observable contestation. Unlike colloquial alternatives like ‘吵架’ (to quarrel), ‘斗争’ implies sustained effort or systemic tension rather than fleeting disagreement.