外刚内柔
Traditional form:
外剛內柔
Pinyin (reading):
wàigāngnèiróu
Definitions:
- soft on the inside despite one's hard shell
- appearing tough on the outside as to mask one's inner vulnerability
- also written 內柔外剛／内柔外刚 (nèiróuwàigāng)
Characters:
- 外 - out, outside, external; foreign; in addition
- 刚 - hard, strong, tough; just, barely
- 内 - inside
- 柔 - soft, supple; gentle; flexible
Traditional characters: