乖 meaning and stroke order
(of a child) obedient, well-behaved; clever; shrewd
How to write 乖, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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- 8
Meaning of 乖
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (of a child) obedient, well-behaved
- clever
- shrewd
- alert
- perverse
- contrary to reason
How 乖 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 丿 (slash), shared by 19 characters on this site.
How to remember 乖
乖 (guāi) looks like 千 (qiān, thousand) with 北 (běi) split around its middle. Picture a child sitting still between two people back to back, told a thousand times to behave, and finally being good.
乖 is mostly used to praise children or pets for being well-behaved, and parents often say 乖 or 乖乖 as a gentle way to coax a child. Example: 宝宝今天很乖。(Bǎobao jīntiān hěn guāi.) The baby was very good today.
Common mistake: Learners often write 乖 as 千 plus a separate 北 side by side, but the two halves of 北 wrap around the vertical stroke of 千 in the center. Also keep the first tone guāi, not guài, which would sound like 怪 (strange).
Common words with 乖
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 乖巧 | guāiqiǎo | clever (child); smart | HSK 7-9 |
| 乖乖 | guāiguāi | (of a child) well-behaved; obediently |
乖 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 乖
How many strokes are in 乖?
乖 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 乖 mean?
乖 (guāi) means (of a child) obedient, well-behaved; clever; shrewd. A common word with it is 乖巧 (guāiqiǎo), meaning "clever (child); smart".
How do you pronounce 乖?
乖 is pronounced guāi, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 乖?
The radical of 乖 is 丿, which carries the idea of "slash". Dictionaries list 乖 under this radical.
Is 乖 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 乖 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 乖 be used to describe adults?
Yes, but it sounds affectionate or teasing, like calling someone sweet or obedient. Couples sometimes say 乖 to each other, and 乖乖 can mean doing something meekly, as in 乖乖听话 (guāiguāi tīnghuà), to obey without complaint.
Why does 乖 also mean perverse or contrary to reason?
That is an older literary sense that survives in words like 乖戾 (guāilì), meaning cantankerous. In everyday modern Chinese, the well-behaved meaning is by far the most common.