外强中干

Traditional form:

外強中乾

Pinyin (reading):

wàiqiángzhōnggān

Definitions:

• strong in appearance but weak in reality (idiom)

Characters:

• 外 - out, outside, external; foreign; in addition
• 强 - strong, powerful, energetic
• 中 - central; center, middle; amidst; to hit (target), to attain; China; Chinese
• 干 - arid, dry; to oppose; to offend; to invade

Traditional characters:

• 外 - out, outside, external; foreign; in addition
• 強 - strong, powerful, energetic
• 中 - central; center, middle; amidst; to hit (target), to attain; China; Chinese
• 乾 - arid, dry; to fertilize; to penetrate; heavenly generative principle (male)