外剛內柔 wài gāng nèi róu

DEFINITIONS

  1. soft on the inside despite one's hard shell
  2. appearing tough on the outside as to mask one's inner vulnerability
  3. also written 內柔外剛|内柔外刚[nei4 rou2 wai4 gang1]

CHARACTERS

外 wài
HSK 2
out, outside, external; foreign
剛 gāng hard, tough, rigid, strong
內 nèi inside, interior; domestic
柔 róu
HSK 5
soft; gentle, pliant