About
愎 is an adjective meaning obstinate, stubborn, or willfully refusing to heed others' advice. Structurally, it is a phono-semantic compound: the left radical 忄 (a variant of the heart radical 心) signals its connection to psychology, emotions, or personality traits. The right component provides the phonetic element, linked to characters like 腹 and 復. The character is most common in the idiom "刚愎自用" (gāngbìzìyòng), describing someone rigidly headstrong and insistent on their own way. Its meaning centers on psychological inflexibility, with the heart radical categorizing this unyielding and overconfident mindset.