乖 (guāi) is a Chinese character meaning “(of a child) well-behaved”. It is written from 千 (thousand) and 北 (north), and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “well-behaved”
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Structure
千 + 北
Overlapping structure
Structure from: Standard IDS ⿻千北 (U+4E56), cross-checked against hanzi-writer-data 8-stroke modern glyph: strokes 1-3 are 千 (丿 一 long 丨), strokes 4-8 are 北
Memory aid
A thousand (千) distractions pull at this child, and 北 shows two backs already turned away from each other — but the child sits still anyway. That is what 乖 means: well-behaved.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 乖巧guāi qiǎowell-behaved and clever; endearing乖 = guāi
- 乖乖guāi guāigood child (term of endearment); obediently乖 = guāi
Go deeper
All readings
well-behaved
(of a child) well-behaved; obedient; good; also, in written words: contrary, out of the ordinary
多用来说小孩听话、懂事；在书面词语里也表示违背常理、别扭。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 乖巧guāi qiǎowell-behaved and clever; endearing乖 = guāi
- 乖乖guāi guāigood child (term of endearment); obediently乖 = guāi
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 乖 mean?
乖 (guāi) means (of a child) well-behaved; obedient; good; also, in written words: contrary, out of the ordinary.
How do you pronounce 乖?
It is pronounced guāi.
What parts is 乖 made of?
千 (thousand) and 北 (north). The recorded source is: Standard IDS ⿻千北 (U+4E56), cross-checked against hanzi-writer-data 8-stroke modern glyph: strokes 1-3 are 千 (丿 一 long 丨), strokes 4-8 are 北. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 乖 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 乖?
丿. 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 乖?
Common ones are 乖巧 and 乖乖. The reading of 乖 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.