---
title: "Zhengzha Meaning: 挣扎 (zhēngzhá) Means “to struggle”"
description: "挣扎 (traditional 掙扎, zhēngzhá) means “to struggle”. Hear its tones, see what 挣 and 扎 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/zhengzha"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 挣扎 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

挣扎 zhēngzhá

## to struggle

## Its characters

1. 挣 zhēng to struggle (as in 挣扎)
2. 扎 zhá to struggle (as in 挣扎)

## In a sentence

小鱼在网里拼命挣扎。 The little fish struggled desperately in the net.

大圣从山下伸出头来，还要**挣扎**，如来便从袖中取出一张封条，上有六个金字，命人贴在山顶。

From [五行山下 · Under the Five-Element Mountain](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/under-the-five-element-mountain-journey-to-the-west-advanced-chinese-8#library-word-891-893)

[More about 挣扎](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E6%8C%A3%E6%89%8E)

## More words with 挣 or 扎

- [扎根 zhāgēn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/zhagen)
- [扎实 zhāshi](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/zhashi)
- [扎心 zhāxīn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/zhaxin)

## Keep 挣扎 for Review

A free account keeps it, and Review brings it back just before you’d forget it.

## Look up another word

## See any word in its sentence

Get a card like this for every word on any page or YouTube subtitle.

[Add to Chrome](https://mandarinthewild.com/go/chrome?from=%2Fmeaning%2Fzhengzha) [Read in the Library](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

[Type pinyin with tone marks](https://mandarinthewild.com/pinyin-tone-marks)

[The best Language Reactor alternatives for Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/guides/language-reactor-alternatives)