拗 (ào) is a Chinese character meaning “awkward”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 幼 (young; small child), side by side, and takes 8 strokes. It has a second reading, niù, which turns up in 执拗 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “awkward; hard to say”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 幼
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分 ⿰扌幼（笔画分组据 hanzi-writer-data 3+5=8）；形声，从扌幼聲（广韵 於絞切，影母）
Memory aid
A hand 扌 on the left takes hold of something young and small 幼 on the right and pulls it the wrong way — it bends, and it will not bend back. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 拗口ào kǒuawkward to say; tongue-twisting拗 = ào
Go deeper
All readings
awkward; hard to say
awkward; not smooth; hard to get out of the mouth (mostly in 拗口)
不顺；不好说出口。多用于「拗口」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 拗口ào kǒuawkward to say; tongue-twisting拗 = ào
stubborn
stubborn; obstinate; refusing to give way
固执，不肯改变。多用于「执拗」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 执拗zhí niùstubborn; obstinate拗 = niù
Sound component
幼 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 拗 mean?
拗 (ào) means awkward; not smooth; hard to get out of the mouth (mostly in 拗口).
How do you pronounce 拗?
Its main reading is ào. It also has a second reading, niù, which only shows up in certain words such as 执拗 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 拗 sometimes pronounced niù?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 执拗 it is read niù.
What parts is 拗 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 幼 (young; small child), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分 ⿰扌幼（笔画分组据 hanzi-writer-data 3+5=8）；形声，从扌幼聲（广韵 於絞切，影母）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 拗 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 拗?
手. 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 拗?
Common ones are 拗口. The reading of 拗 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.