(guāi) - well behaved, obedient, good (of a child or pet) in Mandarin
guāiTraditional: 乖
Translation
well behaved, obedient, good (of a child or pet)
Word origin
In classical Chinese 乖 meant contrary or at odds, a sense that survives in 乖张 (guāi zhāng, perverse). The modern sense of obedient and biddable is a later development.
- Origin
- Chinese
- Root
- 乖 (guāi), originally 'contrary, at odds'
Stroke order
乖
Examples
。
This child is very well behaved.
。
You have been really good today.
，。
There now, stop crying.
。
Her dog is especially well behaved.
。
He was not at all well behaved as a child.
乖 (guāi) describes a child, a pet or occasionally a partner who does as they are told and gives you no trouble. It is warm rather than stern: praising a child as 乖 is affectionate, and 乖 on its own works as a soothing word, roughly there now, be good.
It is almost never used of adults in a serious register. Call a grown colleague 乖 and you are either flirting or being condescending, so keep it for children, animals and people you are very close to.
The trap is the English translation "good". 好 (hǎo) is good in every general sense, but a good child in the sense of obedient is 乖, not 好. And because the modern meaning reversed the classical one, do not try to work it out from 乖张; that fossilised compound still means the opposite.
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乖: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "乖" (well behaved, obedient, good (of a child or pet)): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 49.