顽 (wán) is a Chinese character meaning “stubborn”. It is written from 元 (first; origin) and 页 (head; page, leaf (of a book)), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “stubborn; naughty”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
元 + 页
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 頑，梱頭也。从頁元聲
Memory aid
页 is a head, and 元 beside it hints at the sound (yuán → wán). Picture a head that always insists on being first (元) and will not budge — stubborn, naughty 顽.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 顽皮wán pínaughty; mischievous顽 = wán
- 顽固wán gùstubborn; obstinate顽 = wán
Go deeper
All readings
stubborn; naughty
stubborn; obstinate; naughty, mischievous; tenacious
固执，不容易改变；也指小孩调皮。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 顽皮wán pínaughty; mischievous顽 = wán
- 顽固wán gùstubborn; obstinate顽 = wán
Sound component
元 family rime near
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 顽 mean?
顽 (wán) means stubborn; obstinate; naughty, mischievous; tenacious.
How do you pronounce 顽?
It is pronounced wán.
What parts is 顽 made of?
元 (first; origin) and 页 (head; page, leaf (of a book)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 頑，梱頭也。从頁元聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 顽 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 顽?
页. 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 顽?
Common ones are 顽皮 and 顽固. The reading of 顽 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.