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顽固不化 (wán gù bú huà) — incorrigibly obstinate; stubbornly refusing to change; (sometimes political) thoroughly reactionary; closed to new ideas

Definition

A four-character idiom meaning stubbornly stuck in one's ways, refusing all change. Far stronger than ordinary 顽固 — it implies no hope of reform. Often used politically.

verb
incorrigibly obstinatestubbornly refusing to change(sometimes political) thoroughly reactionaryclosed to new ideas

Examples

  • 顽固不化，。
    Tā zhè ge rén wán gù bú huà, shuí de jiàn yì dōu tīng bú jìn qù.
    This person is incorrigibly stubborn and won't listen to anyone's advice.
  • 顽固不化。
    Zhè zhǒng wán gù bú huà de sī xiǎng zǎo jiù guò shí le.
    This kind of obstinate thinking is long out of date.
  • ，顽固不化，。
    Tā nián jì bú dà, dàn guān niàn wán gù bú huà, hěn nán jiē shòu xīn shì wù.
    Though he's not old, his views are stubbornly conservative — it's hard for him to accept new things.

Origin

Characters in this word

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'.

Open 顽 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéi
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ固gù
Same sound today

固 combines 囗, which relates to the meaning, with 古, which gives the sound.

Open 固 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

Open 化 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesPersonality & Traits

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