怪

guài
adjective HSK 5 #683

Meanings

  1. 1 strange; odd
  2. 2 monster; to blame

Examples

HSK 3
Zhè jiàn shì hěn qíguài.
This matter is very strange.
HSK 4
Bié guài wǒ méi tíxǐng nǐ.
Don't blame me for not warning you.
HSK 6
Guàibude tā bù lái.
No wonder he didn't come.

Tips

usage
怪 has three uses: 'strange' (奇怪, 古怪), 'monster' (怪物, 妖怪), and 'to blame' (怪我, 怪不得). 怪不得 (no wonder) is a very useful spoken expression.

Components

radical
忄 xīn
heart; mind
忄 is the vertical-heart radical, the left-side form of 心. It frames 怪 as an inner reaction: finding something strange is a feeling of surprise or unease, and blaming someone is a mental judgment. Same radical in 怕 fear, 情 emotion, 忙 busy, 怀 cherish.
phonetic
圣 shèng
sage
Right side is 圣 - visually 又 (hand) over 土 (earth), historically a separate phonetic graph distinct from the modern 'sage' character that shares the shape. Supplies the sound: an Old Chinese reading near *kruːls produced guài, with the phonetic match looser in modern Mandarin than it was in antiquity.

Stroke Order

怪 guài