guài
adjective HSK 4 #683

Meanings

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

Examples

HSK 2
Zhè jiàn shì hěn qíguài.
This matter is very strange.
HSK 2
Guàibude tā bù lái.
No wonder he didn't come.
HSK 4
Bié guài wǒ méi tíxǐng nǐ.
Don't blame me for not warning you.

Tips

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

Components

radical
xīn
heart; mind
is the vertical-heart radical, the left-side form of . It frames as an inner reaction: finding something strange is a feeling of surprise or unease, and blaming someone is a mental judgment. Same radical in fear, emotion, busy, 怀 cherish.
phonetic
shèng
sage
Right side is - visually (hand) over (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

guài