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(fǎn kàng) - to resist, to revolt against; resistance in Mandarin

fǎnkàng

Traditional: 反抗

#2686 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

to resist, to revolt against; resistance

Word origin

A compound of 反 (fǎn, against, counter) and 抗 (kàng, to resist, to withstand).

Origin
compound
Root
反 (fǎn, against) + 抗 (kàng, to resist)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 反

Stroke order for 抗

Examples

The people began to resist.

He did not resist and went with them.

cūn

That village resisted for three years.

Children sometimes rebel against their parents.

Their resistance succeeded in the end.

反抗 (fǎn kàng) is resistance with force behind it: pushing back against an oppressor, an occupier, an authority. It works as a verb and, unchanged, as a noun for the resistance itself.

It can stand alone with no object, which is how it most often appears, or take one directly: 反抗政府, to resist the government. There is no need for a preposition.

The trap is confusing it with 反对. 反对 is to oppose, and it lives in the world of opinion: you 反对 a proposal, a plan, an idea, and you do it by voting or speaking. 反抗 involves the body. You 反抗 an arrest or an invasion, and the word implies struggle rather than disagreement. Saying 我反抗这个计划 makes you sound like you are physically fighting a spreadsheet.

Where this fits

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Mandarin · Free printables

反抗: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "反抗" (to resist, to revolt against; resistance): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 54.