CHENGYU
龙争虎斗(lóng zhēng hǔ dòu)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- literary
- Source:
- 汉·班固《答宾戏》
MEANING
- Literal
- dragons contend and tigers fight
- Figurative meaning
- a fierce contest between strong rivals
ORIGIN STORY
From Ban Gu's "Answer to a Guest's Banter": "The realm split apart — dragons warred and tigers fought." The image of the two mightiest beasts locked in combat became the phrase for any titanic rivalry.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“a clash of titans”
EXAMPLES
决赛是两支强队的龙争虎斗。Juésài shì liǎng zhī qiáng duì de lóng zhēng hǔ dòu.HSK6
The final is a dragon-and-tiger battle between two strong teams.
两位棋手的对决真是龙争虎斗。Liǎng wèi qíshǒu de duìjué zhēn shì lóng zhēng hǔ dòu.HSK6
The duel between the two players was truly dragons contending and tigers fighting.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: Both sides must be strong — it is not used for lopsided contests.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01