戦(いくさ)

いくさ

noun

war; battle; warfare (classical/literary)

1. war; battle; warfare

Classical or literary word for war and armed conflict, especially associated with the samurai and pre-modern eras. In modern Japanese it appears mainly in historical writing, period dramas, set phrases, and idioms.

戦(いくさ)が始(はじ)まった。

The war has begun.

この村(むら)は長(なが)い戦(いくさ)で荒(あ)れ果(は)てた。

This village was devastated by the long war.

武士(ぶし)たちは主君(しゅくん)のために戦(いくさ)に出(で)て命(いのち)を懸(か)けた。

The warriors went off to battle and risked their lives for their lord.

Classical/literary word for war or battle. The everyday modern term is 戦争(せんそう); いくさ evokes pre-modern, especially samurai-era, conflict and appears mainly in historical fiction, period dramas, and set expressions.

Common collocations

戦(いくさ)に出(で)る: to go off to war
戦(いくさ)に勝(か)つ: to win a battle
戦(いくさ)に敗(やぶ)れる: to lose a battle
戦(いくさ)場(ば): battlefield (also read せんじょう with different kanji)

Similar words

戦争(せんそう): war — the standard modern term for large-scale armed conflict
戦(たたか)い: fight; battle — broader, includes non-military struggles
合戦(かっせん): pitched battle — historical term for a set-piece engagement

general

Added 2026.6.2 12:07 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

28500/28574_ikusa