软钉子

Traditional form:

軟釘子

Pinyin (reading):

ruǎndīngzi

Definitions:

• lit. a soft nail
• fig. a tactful retort or rejection

Characters:

• 软 - soft, pliable, flexible; weak
• 钉 - nail, spike
• 子 - son, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thing

Traditional characters:

• 軟 - soft, pliable, flexible; weak
• 釘 - nail, spike
• 子 - son, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thing