尬 (gà) · embarrassing, awkward

Meanings

1 embarrassing
2 awkward

Characters

尬

gà

awkward; embarrassing

Examples

HSK 2

他笑得很尬。

Tā xiào de hěn gà.

His smile was really awkward.

HSK 6

刚才的场面好尬。

Gāngcái de chǎngmiàn hǎo gà.

That scene just now was so awkward.

Tips

register

Originally only appeared in 尴尬. Internet-era usage broke it free as a standalone - 尬聊 (awkward chitchat), 尬舞 (awkward dancing), 尬笑 (forced smile). Casual speech and online posts only.

memory

尢 (lame) + 介 - looks like a person standing crookedly between two things, can't go forward or back: visually awkward.

Components

radical

尢 wāng

lame; bent leg

Left wrap 尢 - pictograph of a person with one bent leg (top stroke = head, two below = a body with a curled, lame limb). The indexing radical, marking 尬 in the small family of awkward / hobbled chars: 尴 awkward, 尪 weak-thin. The pictographic asymmetry IS the meaning - something out of shape, off-balance.

phonetic

介 jiè

between; intermediary

Right side 介 supplies the sound: jiè to gà, a heavily eroded shift but the agreed phonetic. 介 itself depicts a person caught between two slashes - 'in the middle, intervening.' That sandwich image reinforces 尴尬: someone stuck between two bad options, unable to move smoothly either way. 尬 is now best known from internet slang 尬聊 'forced awkward chat.'