刁 diāo tricky
tricky; sly; crafty; cunning
How it came to be
The character began as another way of writing the knife.
用法
- Crafty and hard to deal with: 刁难 (diāonàn) to deliberately make things difficult for someone, 刁钻 (diāozuān) tricky and sly.
- Always negative: it paints someone as cunning and obstructive, not merely clever.
- 故意刁难 (gùyì diāonàn) = to deliberately give someone a hard time.