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

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.

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