乖戾

guāilì

adjective #36,644

Meanings

1 perverse
2 disagreeable (in temperament)
3 eccentric and ill-tempered

Characters

(classical) contrary; (modern) well-behaved

violent; wayward

Examples

HSK 5

他性格乖戾，难以相处。

Tā xìnggé guāilì, nányǐ xiāngchǔ.

He has a perverse temperament and is hard to get along with.

HSK 7-9

老人晚年变得有些乖戾。

Lǎorén wǎnnián biàn de yǒuxiē guāilì.

The old man became somewhat cantankerous in his later years.

Tips

usage

Don't be misled by 乖 - in modern speech 乖 usually means 'well-behaved' (as in praising children), but in this classical compound 乖 retains its older sense 'contrary / out of accord'. Combined with 戾 ('violent / wayward'), it describes a difficult, contrary nature.

register

Literary and judgmental - appears in fiction, news commentary, and character descriptions. Not used casually in spoken Chinese.

Stroke Order

乖 guāi

戾 lì