外剛內柔 wài gāng nèi róu

tough outside, soft-hearted inside

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 內柔外剛nèi róu wài gāng

Characters

Character Meaning
外 wài HSK 2
outside; external; foreign
剛 gāng
just; exactly; hard
內 nèi
inside; within; inner
柔 róu HSK 5
soft; flexible; supple