DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

執拗

简执拗 · 繁執拗

Mandarin · pinyin zhí niù

stubborn; willful; pigheaded
Taiwan pr. zhíào

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

執: Look up this written character
拗: ào · to pull, drag, break off, to pluck (a flower); bent, warped; perverse, obstinate
执: zhí · hold in hand; keep; carry out

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–4 · zhi2 niu4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

2character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

執拗 · find source passages ↗ · 执拗 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zap1 aau3

Cantonese word readings for 執拗. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

adj

stubborn; mulish; willful; pigheaded; obstinate

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack