How to Write 倔 (jué/juè) — Meaning “Stubborn; gruff.”

Imagine a person (亻) who is so stubborn they say "no" to everything — the right side 屈 looks like a person bending backward to resist. Picture someone digging in their heels and refusing to move, like a stubborn mule; the shape of 屈 even resembles a twisted figure.

Pay attention to the right side 屈: the top part is 尸 (corpse radical) with a small 出 inside, but actually 屈 is written as 尸 + 出 (without the stroke between). A common mistake is writing the bottom of 屈 as 山 instead of 出 — the bottom must be 出 (with the vertical stroke connecting). Also, the left radical 亻 should be narrow, and the right side 屈 is wider, keeping the balance.

倔 (jué) means "stubborn" and uses the right side 屈, while 佩 (pèi) means "to admire" or "to wear" and has a right side that looks like 几+巾. 佬 (lǎo) means "guy" or "fellow" (often slightly rude) and has the right side 老 (old). Visually, 倔 is taller with a compact right side, whereas 佩 has a more open right part and 佬 has a larger right component.

倔 is most often used in words like 倔强 (jué jiàng, "stubborn and unyielding") and 脾气倔 (pí qì juè, "to have a stubborn temper"). In Chinese culture, being described as 倔 can imply both a negative trait (inflexible) and a positive one (persistent, not giving up easily), but it usually carries a neutral to slightly negative tone when talking about personality.

Common words containing 倔 include: 倔强 (jué jiàng) — Stubborn; unyielding.; 脾气倔 (pí qì jué) — stubborn; headstrong; 倔头倔脑 (juè tóu juè nǎo) — Stubborn and blunt..