How to Write 狯 (kuài) — Meaning “cunning”

Imagine a sly dog (犭) that has 'meet' (会) your expectations by being tricky. The dog is so clever it joins a meeting and outsmarts everyone, which helps you recall kuài meaning cunning.

Write the left radical 犭 first with its three strokes: left-falling hook, then two short strokes. Then write the right part 会 carefully—the top 人, middle 云, and bottom 人 again. A common mistake is forgetting the top stroke of the right side or making the radical too big.

状 (zhuàng) means 'shape' or 'form' and has a different right side (丬), while 犹 (yóu) means 'still' or 'like' and uses 尤. 狯 specifically means 'cunning' and uses 会, so they are visually distinct despite sharing the animal radical.

狯 is rare and appears mostly in classical texts or compound words like 狡狯 (crafty) or 顽狯 (mischievous). It is not used in everyday conversation, but you may encounter it in literature describing sly or playful characters.

Common words containing 狯 include: 狡狯 (jiǎo kuài) — Crafty; tricky; 顽狯 (wán kuài) — Mischievous / Playful; 狯黠 (kuài xiá) — crafty / sly.