What is the difference between zhèng and zhēng in 挣? I just found that 挣 has two variants of pronunciation - zhèng and zhēng. However, both seem to express &quot;struggle&quot; in English.
Some words express different meanings depending on the pronunciation - e.g. my recent question on 只.
Well, it might be slightly different, since according to MBDG dictionary:

挣 zhēng: see 掙扎｜挣扎
挣 zhèng: to struggle to get free / to strive to acquire / to make (money)

So zhēng is equivalent only to 掙扎 or 挣扎, but these two words also mean &quot;struggle&quot;. So I don't understand how you can decide whether the 挣 you see in a sentence is zhèng or zhēng.
So if you see 挣 in a sentence, how can you discern which pronunciation is correct? Also, does it make any difference regarding the two words (e.g. on usage)?
I think you already got the point. 


  
  挣 zhēng: see 掙扎｜挣扎
  挣 zhèng: to struggle to get free / to strive to acquire / to make (money)
  


挣 will only be pronounced as 'zhēng' in 挣扎 and 'zhèng' for the rest.