执拗 (zhí ǎo) — stubborn, willful, pigheaded (of a person or attitude)

Definition

A negative-leaning adjective for someone who clings stubbornly to their own ideas and refuses to compromise. Stronger than 顽固 (which can imply deep-rooted principles) and more about attitude than 固执.

adjective
stubbornwillfulpigheaded (of a person or attitude)

Examples

  • 执拗，。
    Tā xìng gé zhí ǎo, shuí quàn dōu méi yòng.
    He has a stubborn personality; no one's advice helps.
  • 执拗，。
    Tā zhí ǎo dì jiān chí zì jǐ de yì jiàn, bù kěn ràng bù.
    She stubbornly insisted on her own opinion and refused to compromise.
  • 执拗。
    Zhè zhǒng zhí ǎo de tài dù ràng tuán duì hé zuò biàn de hěn kùn nan.
    This kind of pigheaded attitude makes teamwork very difficult.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

执zhístubborn
拗àowillful

执 and 拗 both convey stubbornness, so together they describe a willful, pigheaded attitude.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 執; 执 is its simplified writing.

  • 㚔㚔㚔criminal / handcuffs
  • 丮丮jǐhand

The traditional form 執 shows 㚔, a handcuffed criminal, with 丮, a hand, giving the idea of arrest. The simplified 执 is a later shorthand, so its current parts are not the original pieces.

Open 执 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 拗 →

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