頑

Core sense of "hardness" or "rigidity," typically applied pejoratively to a refusal to bend.

• Behavioral: Stubbornness, recalcitrance, or headstrongness.
• Intellectual: Mental slowness, stupidity, or lack of agility (e.g., 頑鈍); a mind unable to adapt or grasp concepts.
• Physical: Literal hardness, stiffness, or numbness; tissues or limbs that are inflexible or unresponsive.

Predominantly an adjective. Frequently appears in binary compounds with other adjectives to emphasize a state of uselessness or stagnation. Use as a verb (e.g., "to become stubborn") is rare and should be treated as a stylistic idiosyncrasy.

• 頑 vs. 固: While 固 (gù) can denote virtuous steadfastness or firmness, 頑 typically implies a flaw born of pride, ignorance, or an unwillingness to be corrected.
• 頑 vs. 僵: Both describe stiffness; however, 僵 (jiāng) typically refers to being frozen, paralyzed, or dead (rigor mortis), whereas 頑 implies an inherent structural hardness.

Tang-period reading: nguan. Fanqie reading: 五還. Simplified variant: U+987D.

When determining the sense of the glyph, identify the domain: if the context concerns character, look for obstinacy; if intellect, look for dullness; if anatomy or health, look for physical rigidity.