How to Write 骜 (ào) — Meaning “Untamed horse or arrogant”

Imagine a wild horse (马) that is so proud and arrogant it walks around like a noble (敖, which resembles a person with a crown). Picture the horse refusing to be tamed, acting like a king — that stubborn attitude is 骜.

Pay attention to the left side 马: it is narrower and the horizontal stroke should be short to allow space for the right part. The right part 敖 has a complex structure with 土 and 攵, so write them compactly without letting them spread too wide. A common mistake is making the 马 too wide, which unbalances the character.

骜 (ào) means untamed or arrogant, while 骐 (qí) refers to a fine horse or a dark-spotted horse. 骑 (qí) means to ride a horse or a rider. Visually, 骜 has the phonetic 敖 on the right, 骐 has 其, and 骑 has 奇. Their meanings are distinct: 骜 focuses on wildness, 骐 on a type of horse, and 骑 on the action of riding.

骜 is rare in everyday speech but appears in formal or literary contexts, especially in the word 桀骜 (jié ào, unruly) and the idiom 桀骜不驯 (jié ào bù xùn, stubborn and unyielding). It often describes a person who is defiant and hard to control, with a slightly negative tone. You might encounter it in historical novels, news articles about rebellious figures, or classical poetry.

Common words containing 骜 include: 桀骜 (jié ào) — unruly; stubborn; 骜马 (ào mǎ) — Untamed horse; 桀骜不驯 (jié ào bù xùn) — unruly and intractable.