征服

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 征服 is a noun read せいふく, meaning conquest of a land or complete mastery of a difficult objective. It forms the verb 征服する.
• Basic usage: It can describe a dream of conquering an unclimbed peak or a failed attempt to conquer a neighboring country.
  • 探検家は誰も登っていない峰の征服を夢見た。 says that the explorer dreamed of conquering a peak no one had climbed; 物語の王は隣国を征服しようとして失敗した。 says that the king in the story tried and failed to conquer the neighboring country.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 峰の征服を夢見る
  • の links the conquest to its target peak, and を marks that conquest as what was dreamed of.
• 征服しようとして失敗する
  • ようとする shows an attempt, and the following 失敗した prevents reading it as a successful conquest.
• 征服 and 克服
  • 征服 conquers a land or fully masters an objective, while 克服 overcomes a difficulty or weakness.