刀子嘴，豆腐心 dāo zi zuǐ ， dòu fu xīn

to have a sharp tongue but a soft heart (idiom)

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. to have a sharp tongue but a soft heart (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
刀 dāo HSK 4
knife; blade; classifier for knife cuts or stabs
子 zi HSK 1
(noun suffix); son; child
嘴 zuǐ HSK 3
mouth; beak; spout (of teapot etc)
豆 dòu HSK 5
bean; pea; variant of 豆dòu
腐 fu HSK 5
rotten; decay
心 xīn HSK 3
heart; mind; intention