# 戦 — war; battle

戦 means “war; battle”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 13 strokes. On'yomi: セン (sen). Kun'yomi: いくさ (ikusa), たたか(う) (tatakau). You'll see it in words such as リーグ戦 (riigusen, “league match; league game”).

- Meaning: war; battle
- On'yomi: セン (sen)
- Kun'yomi: いくさ (ikusa), たたか(う) (tatakau)
- Strokes: 13
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Conflict & rivalry 1

## How to remember 戦

One single (単) halberd (戈) raised, and war begins.

Parts: 単 simple · 戈 halberd

## Words with 戦

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| リーグ戦 | リーグせん (riigusen) | league match; league game |
| オープン戦 | オープンせん (oopunsen) | exhibition game; preseason game |

## Don't confuse it with

[弾](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/bullet/) · [禅](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/zen/)

## More in the “Conflict & rivalry 1” set

[戦](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/war/) · [勝](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/win/) · [軍](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/army/) · [争](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/compete/) · [防](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/defend/) · [害](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/harm/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/war/. Last updated 2026-11-01.