倔

jué, juè
亻 + 屈
HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

jué (adjective) stubborn; obstinate
jué (adjective) defiant; tough

Etymology

Someone 亻 who does not bend 屈; 屈 also provides the pronunciation

About

倔 is a phono-semantic compound that combines the 'person' radical 亻 on the left with 屈 on the right, which means 'to bend, yield' and also provides the pronunciation. The 亻 radical grounds the character in human disposition, while 屈 adds a phonetic layer and a semantic irony: a component signifying flexibility builds a word for a person who is completely unbending, stubborn, obstinate, and uncompromising, often refusing to submit to outside pressure or contrary opinions. Thus, the character captures a rigidly inflexible personality through the striking contrast between yielding and unyielding.

Example Sentences Hide

他的性格很倔。

Tā de xìnggé hěn juè.

His personality is very stubborn.

她是个倔强的孩子。

Tā shì gè juéjiàng de háizi.

She is a stubborn child.

爷爷的脾气非常倔。

Yéye de píqi fēicháng juè.

Grandfather's temper is very stubborn.

他倔得不肯认错。

Tā juè de bù kěn rèncuò.

He is so stubborn that he won't admit his mistake.

尽管大家都劝他，他还是倔强地坚持自己的意见。

Jǐnguǎn dàjiā dōu quàn tā, tā háishì juéjiàng de jiānchí zìjǐ de yìjiàn.

Although everyone advised him, he still stubbornly insisted on his own opinion.

妈妈常说弟弟太倔，不听别人的话。

Māma cháng shuō dìdi tài juè, bù tīng biérén de huà.

Mom often says that younger brother is too stubborn and doesn't listen to others.

虽然他外表温和，但内心却十分倔强。

Suīrán tā wàibiǎo wēnhé, dàn nèixīn què shífēn juéjiàng.

Although he appears gentle on the outside, he is very stubborn inside.

在那个问题上，他表现出了一种近乎愚蠢的倔强，无论我们怎么解释，他都固执己见。

Zài nàge wèntí shàng, tā biǎoxiàn chūle yī zhǒng jìnhū yúchǔn de juéjiàng, wúlùn wǒmen zěnme jiěshì, tā dōu gùzhíjǐjiàn.

On that issue, he showed a kind of almost foolish stubbornness, no matter how we explained, he stubbornly held to his own opinion.

Related Characters

Component: 亻

他 们 你 作 但 使 体 什 代 信 化 位 任 何

Component: 屈

掘 窟 崛 堀

Example Words

倔强 倔头