拗 has three readings: ào (stubborn; awkward, most common in writing, e.g. 拗口 'tongue-twisting', 拗脾气 'stubborn temper'), niù (dialectal: stubborn, 执拗), and ǎo (dialectal: to bend or break by twisting).
mistakes
Don't confuse with 抝, a variant form of the same character. The compound 拗口 'awkward to pronounce' is the most everyday context you'll see this character in.
Left hand radical, side-form of 手, three compressed strokes. The indexing element. Marks 拗 as a hand action: to bend, twist or break with force, or by extension to be stubborn. Family: 折, 扭, the bend-and-break cluster.
Right 幼 supplies the sound, drifting yòu to ào (or niù in the 'stubborn' reading) through irregular shift. Faint resonance: 幼 'young' connects to the green-stick imagery of a sapling being bent, since young branches twist easiest.
