诡

guǐ deceitful; strange

8 strokes

诡 (guǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “deceitful”. It is written from 讠 (speech radical) and 危 (danger; perilous), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.

Build the character for “deceitful; crafty”

Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.

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Structure

讠 + 危

Left–right structure

  • 讠 speech radical · yán meaning
  • 危 danger; perilous · wēi sound

Structure from: 说文解字「詭,責也。从言危聲」;IDS 拆分 ⿰讠危,并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验:笔画 0–1 为「讠」,笔画 2–7 与「危」逐笔对应(2+6=8画)

Memory aid

Speech (讠) on the left, 危 on the right. 危 is the sound part, though wēi and guǐ have drifted far apart over the centuries. Read it as a picture instead: words (讠) that put you in danger (危) — talk you cannot trust.

This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.

Stroke order

8 strokes

In real words

  • 诡计guǐ jìtrick; ruse; crafty scheme诡 = guǐ
  • 诡异guǐ yìeerie; bizarre; uncanny诡 = guǐ
Go deeper

All readings

guǐ main reading

deceitful; strange

deceitful; crafty; tricky; also: strange, uncanny

欺诈、狡猾;也表示奇异、让人捉摸不透。 — studyhanzi 编写

Words with this reading

  • 诡计guǐ jìtrick; ruse; crafty scheme诡 = guǐ
  • 诡异guǐ yìeerie; bizarre; uncanny诡 = guǐ

Sound component

危 family diverged

Other characters with these parts

讠 → 计订认讥讨让训议

危 → 脆

Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions

Questions people ask about this character

What does 诡 mean?

诡 (guǐ) means deceitful; crafty; tricky; also: strange, uncanny.

How do you pronounce 诡?

It is pronounced guǐ.

What parts is 诡 made of?

讠 (speech radical) and 危 (danger; perilous), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「詭,責也。从言危聲」;IDS 拆分 ⿰讠危,并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验:笔画 0–1 为「讠」,笔画 2–7 与「危」逐笔对应(2+6=8画). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.

How many strokes does 诡 have?

8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 诡?

讠. 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 诡?

Common ones are 诡计 and 诡异. The reading of 诡 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.