外刚内柔 wài gāng nèi róu

appearing tough on the outside as to mask one's inner vulnerability

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. appearing tough on the outside as to mask one's inner vulnerability
  2. 2. soft on the inside despite one's hard shell
  3. 3. also written nèi róu wài gāng

Characters

Character Meaning
outside; external; foreign
just; exactly; hard
inside; within; inner
soft; flexible; supple