歪 (wāi): askew, at a crooked angle, devious
歪 (wāi) is a Chinese character meaning “askew.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 不 (structural) and 正 (structural). It ranks #2184 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 歪 not 不 straight 正. Its radical form 止 (stop) appears in many related characters such as 正 (zhèng, straight), 止 (zhǐ, to stop), 此 (cǐ, this).
Definitions
- askew
- at a crooked angle
- devious
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 歪 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 歪曲verb | wāi qū | to distort |
| 歪理noun | wāi lǐ | fallacious reasoning |
| 东倒西歪 | dōng dǎo xī wāi | to lean unsteadily from side to side (idiom) |
| 歪打正着phrase | wāi dǎ zhèng zháo | to succeed by a lucky stroke |
| 上梁不正下梁歪proverb | shàng liáng bù zhèng xià liáng wāi | lit. If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked (idiom) |
| 歪歪扭扭adjective | wāi wāi niǔ niǔ | crooked |
| 歪门邪道 | wāi mén xié dào | dishonest practices |
| 歪歪斜斜adjective | wāi wāi xié xié | shuddering |
| 歪斜adjective | wāi xié | crooked |
| 歪风noun | wāi fēng | unhealthy trend |
| 歪点子 | wāi diǎn zi | illegal device |
| 脚正不怕鞋歪 | jiǎo zhèng bù pà xié wāi | lit. a straight foot has no fear of a crooked shoe |
| 邪门歪道noun | xié mén wāi dào | lit. devil's gate, crooked path (idiom) |
| 歪风邪气 | wāi fēng xié qì | noxious winds, evil influences (idiom) |
| 口眼歪斜 | kǒu yǎn wāi xié | facial nerve paralysis |
歪 appears in 29 compound words: 45 as the first character, 28 as the last, and 28 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 歪 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
to lean unsteadily from side to side (idiom); to sway; (of buildings etc) to lean at a crazy angle
to have used the wrong method or have had no intention of doing something but arrive at the correct result nevertheless
to lean unsteadily from side to side (idiom); to sway; (of buildings etc) to lean at a crazy angle
to have used the wrong method or have had no intention of doing something but arrive at the correct result nevertheless
Example Sentences
这个歪字的意思与它的部首有关。
zhè gě wāi zì de yì sī yú tā de bù shǒu yǒu guān .
The meaning of this character "歪" is related to its radical.
龙七公:“低级红爱国”歪风不可长
lóng qī gōng : dī jí hóng ài guó wāi fēng bù kě cháng
Long Qigong: The harmful trend of "low-level red patriotism" must not be allowed to continue
日本政府审定通过歪曲历史内容的教科书 韩国强烈抗议
rì běn zhèng fǔ shěn dìng tōng guò wāi qū lì shǐ nèi róng de jiào kē shū hán guó qiáng liè kàng yì
The Japanese government has approved textbooks containing distorted historical accounts, prompting a strong protest from South Korea
柏油路没干酿公车下陷!车歪斜秒吓坏司机
bǎi yóu lù méi gān niàng gōng chē xià xiàn ! chē wāi xié miǎo hè huài sī jī
Uncured asphalt causes bus to sink! The vehicle tilted, instantly terrifying the driver
...狱!台中男转弯“撞飞”女高中生 再暴冲撞歪标志杆
. . . yù ! tái zhōng nán zhuǎn wān zhuàng fēi nǚ gāo zhōng shēng zài bào chōng zhuàng wāi biāo zhì gān
...Prison! Taichung man "knocks down" female high school student while turning, then careens into and bends a traffic signpost
为了飞更远?冬奥跳台滑雪爆阴茎注射歪风
wéi le fēi gēng yuǎn ? dōng ào tiào tái huá xuě bào yīn jīng zhù shè wāi fēng
To fly further? Winter Olympics ski jumping exploded penis injection crooked
上梁不正下梁歪。
Shàngliángbùzhèngxiàliángwāi.
A fish rots from the head down.
这小女孩如果没人关心的话，就要走上歪路了。
Zhè xiáo nǚhái rúguǒ méi rén guānxīn de huà, jiù yào zǒu shàng wāi lù le.
The little girl will go astray if no one cares much about her.
你不能指望他们认不出你的伪装。那个歪半边的一角店胡子是致命漏洞！
Nǐ bù néng zhǐwàng tāmen rèn bù chū nǐ de wěizhuāng. nàge wāi bànbiān de yī jiǎo diàn húzi shì zhìmìng lòudòng!
You can't seriously expect that they won't recognize you in that disguise. That lopsided, dime store moustache is a dead giveaway!
Character Family
Homophones — Characters pronounced wāi
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 歪 (wāi) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 歪 have?
What is the radical of 歪?
What are the components of 歪?
What are common words containing 歪?
What characters sound the same as 歪 (wāi)?
Is 歪 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 歪 with real-time feedback
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