怪 (guài) is a Chinese character meaning “strange”. It is written from 忄 (heart (left-side form)) and 圣 (sage; holy), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “strange; odd”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
忄 + 圣
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：忄 3 画 + 圣 5 画 = 8 画；左侧 忄 属心部，右侧构件作用未确认，留 unknown）
Memory aid
The heart radical 忄 on the left tells you this is a feeling. On the right sits 圣. A heart that keeps staring at something it cannot explain — that is the feeling of finding something strange.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 奇怪qí guàistrange; odd; to find it strange怪 = guài
- 妖怪yāo guàimonster; demon; goblin怪 = guài
- 鬼怪guǐ guàighosts and monsters; evil spirits怪 = guài
Go deeper
All readings
strange; odd
strange; odd; peculiar; to find it strange; to blame
跟平常不一样，令人觉得纳闷；也表示责备。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 奇怪qí guàistrange; odd; to find it strange怪 = guài
- 妖怪yāo guàimonster; demon; goblin怪 = guài
- 鬼怪guǐ guàighosts and monsters; evil spirits怪 = guài
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 怪 mean?
怪 (guài) means strange; odd; peculiar; to find it strange; to blame.
How do you pronounce 怪?
It is pronounced guài.
What parts is 怪 made of?
忄 (heart (left-side form)) and 圣 (sage; holy), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：忄 3 画 + 圣 5 画 = 8 画；左侧 忄 属心部，右侧构件作用未确认，留 unknown）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 怪 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 怪?
心. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 怪?
Common ones are 奇怪 and 妖怪. The reading of 怪 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.