HSK 5 · Ideas

矛盾 máodùn “contradiction” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 矛盾 means

  1. contradiction
  2. conflicting views
  3. contradictory

Measure word 个 gè · 一个矛盾 yí ge máodùn

How to say 矛盾

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale矛máo2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale盾dùn4th tone, falling

矛盾 in a sentence

  1. 他和老板有矛盾，这个我们知道就好。

    Tā hé lǎobǎn yǒu máodùn, zhè ge wǒmen zhīdao jiù hǎo.

    Just between us, he’s at odds with the boss.

    Sentence #813530 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 希望与现实之间的矛盾，因何而起？

    Xīwàng yǔ xiànshí zhījiān de máodùn, yīn hé ér qǐ?

    What causes this contradiction between hope and reality?

    Sentence #2307152 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 你在自相矛盾。

    Nǐ zài zìxiāng máodùn.

    You’re contradicting yourself.

    Sentence #4267233 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 矛盾 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 矛 (máo) drawn as one shape
矛máospear; lance; pike

矛 is a single shape of 5 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

The character 盾 (dùn) with each of its parts in a different colour
盾dùnshield
  • 厂cliff · hǎn
  • 十ten · shí
  • 目eye · mù

How to write 矛盾

矛 5 strokes · 盾 9 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

矛盾 (máodùn) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 矛盾 (máodùn). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 矛盾

More words: Ideas & Concepts

力量lìliang · power领域lǐngyù · domain逻辑luójí · logic毛病máobìng · fault魅力mèilì · charm梦想mèngxiǎng · dream面积miànjī · area (of a floor or piece of land)命运mìngyùn · fate

FAQs

矛盾 (máodùn) means “contradiction” or “conflicting views”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it máodùn: máo with a 2nd tone, then dùn with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 矛盾 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one contradiction is 一个矛盾 (yí ge máodùn).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type maodun with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 矛盾 from the suggestions. Typing maodun into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
矛盾 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.