batallar
verbCEFR B2
What does “batallar” mean in English?
to struggle, to battle
to struggle, to battle (batallar con/contra — fight difficult circumstances with effort)
Example sentences
Muchos autónomos batallan a diario con una carga burocrática que dificulta el crecimiento de sus negocios.
Many self-employed workers battle daily with a bureaucratic burden that hampers the growth of their businesses.
El equipo lleva meses batallando para conseguir la aprobación definitiva del regulador.
The team has been battling for months to obtain the regulator's final approval.
Batalló durante años contra la enfermedad sin perder en ningún momento su buen humor.
He battled the illness for years without ever losing his good humour.
How to use it
Batallar means 'to struggle', 'to battle', or 'to contend with'. It is always figurative at B2 — there is no literal combat sense (that is luchar or combatir). Constructions: batallar con/contra + noun (battle with bureaucracy, battle against illness); batallar para + infinitive (battle to achieve something). It implies ongoing effortful resistance against a difficult adversary, whether abstract (bureaucracy, debt) or concrete (a competitor, a regulation).
Common mistake
Batallar is informal-to-neutral in register — it works in press, conversation, and narrative but would be replaced by luchar in more formal academic writing. Don't confuse with pelear (to fight — more physical or heated conflict) or forcejear (to wrestle physically). Batallar implies persistent effort, not a single confrontation.