Chinese symbol for “gruff”
倔
juè
gruff; surly
The closest CC-CEDICT match for gruff is 倔 (juè), defined as: gruff; surly.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “gruff”
Related words
Other words that share a character with 倔.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 倔强 (倔強) | jué jiàng | stubborn; obstinate; unbending |
| 倔头 (倔頭) | juè tóu | a surly, irascible person |
See also: Japanese symbol for “gruff”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.