頑 meaning and stroke order
Stubborn, recalcitrant, obstinate
How to write 頑, stroke by stroke
13 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 10
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- 13
Meaning of 頑
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- mischievous
- obstinate
- to play
- stupid
- stubborn
- naughty
How 頑 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Head.
頁 gives the meaning and 元 hints at the sound.
Radical: 頁 (page), shared by 45 characters on this site.
How to remember 頑
頑 combines 元 (yuán), which gives the sound, with 頁 (yè), which means head. Picture a hard head that will not change its mind, and you have someone stubborn.
頑 (simplified 顽) rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It appears in words like 顽皮 (wánpí, naughty), 顽固 (wángù, stubborn), and 顽强 (wánqiáng, tenacious). Example: 这个孩子很顽皮。(Zhège háizi hěn wánpí.) This child is very naughty.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 顽 (wán) with 玩 (wán, to play), since they sound the same and share 元. Remember that 玩 has the jade radical 王 and is about playing, while 顽 has the head radical 頁 and describes a person's nature.
Common words with 頑
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
Questions about 頑
How many strokes are in 頑?
頑 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 頑 mean?
頑 (wán) means stubborn, recalcitrant, obstinate. A common word with it is 顽强 (wánqiáng), meaning "tenacious; hard to defeat".
How do you pronounce 頑?
頑 is pronounced wán, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 頑?
The radical of 頑 is 頁, which carries the idea of "page". Dictionaries list 頑 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 頑?
頑 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 顽, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 顽 always negative?
Not always. 顽固 (wángù) and 老顽固 (lǎowángù) are negative, but 顽强 (wánqiáng) is praise, meaning tenacious or hard to defeat. 顽皮 (wánpí) is often affectionate when talking about children.
What is the difference between 顽皮 and 调皮?
Both mean naughty or mischievous and are often interchangeable. 调皮 (tiáopí) is more common in everyday speech, while 顽皮 (wánpí) can sound slightly more written.