顽 (wán) — (bound form) stubborn, obstinate; (bound form) naughty, mischievous; (bound form) stupid, dull

Definition

顽 is a bound form that only appears inside compounds like 顽固 ('stubborn'), 顽皮 ('naughty'), and 顽强 ('tenacious') — it carries the core sense of 'stubborn / obstinate'.

bound form
stubbornobstinatenaughtymischievousstupiddull
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā hěn wán pí, zǒng shì gēn rén kāi wán xiào.
    He is very naughty and always jokes with people.
  • ，。
    Zhè ge lǎo rén hěn wán gù, bù kěn gǎi biàn zhǔ yì.
    This old man is very stubborn and refuses to change his mind.
  • ，。
    Tā de yì zhì hěn wán qiáng, cóng bú fàng qì.
    His will is very tenacious; he never gives up.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 頑; 顽 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
元
元yuán頑wán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 頑, 元 gave the sound and 頁 showed 'head'; the sense was 'a stubborn head'.

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.