倔 (jué) is a Chinese character meaning “stubborn”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 屈 (to bend; to yield), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “stubborn”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
亻 + 屈
Left–right structure
Structure from: modern-glyph IDS ⿰亻屈，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺核验（前2笔为亻，后8笔为屈，共10笔）
Memory aid
A person (亻) standing next to 屈, "to bend" — and refusing to. Someone who will not bend is stubborn.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 倔强jué jiàngstubborn; unbending倔 = jué
Go deeper
All readings
stubborn
stubborn; unbending; obstinate
性子硬，不肯屈服。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 倔强jué jiàngstubborn; unbending倔 = jué
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 倔 mean?
倔 (jué) means stubborn; unbending; obstinate.
How do you pronounce 倔?
It is pronounced jué.
What parts is 倔 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 屈 (to bend; to yield), side by side. The recorded source is: modern-glyph IDS ⿰亻屈，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺核验（前2笔为亻，后8笔为屈，共10笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 倔 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 倔?
人. 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 倔?
Common ones are 倔强. The reading of 倔 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.