wán

mischievous

obstinate; to play; stupid; stubborn; naughty

origin (元) + head (页) = a hardheaded, stubborn person

页 means 'head' in its original sense, and a stubborn head that won't budge captures the core of 顽 perfectly. 元 mainly lends the sound wán; the head radical carries the meaning.

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OriginPhonetic
Head (original meaningSemantic

这个小孩很皮,总是不听话。

zhè ge xiǎo hái hěn wán pí,zǒng shì bù tīng huà。

This child is very naughty and never listens.

他性格固,很难改变自己的想法。

tā xìng gé wán gù,hěn nán gǎi biàn zì jǐ de xiǎng fǎ。

He has a stubborn character and finds it hard to change his own thinking.

Words with 顽

顽劣

wán liè

stubborn and obstreperous

顽匪

wán fěi

gangster

顽固

wán gù

stubborn; obstinate

顽强

wán qiáng

tenacious

凶顽

xiōng wán

fierce and uncontrollable

冥顽

míng wán

stupidly obstinate

冥顽不灵

míng wán bù líng

(idiom) pigheaded

思想顽钝

sī xiǎng wán dùn

blunt thinking

愚顽

yú wán

ignorant and stubborn

死顽固

sǐ wán gù

very stubborn

顽梗

wán gěng

obstinate; stubborn; pig-headed

顽民

wán mín

unruly people

More characters with 元