外刚内柔 in English wai4 gang1 nei4 rou2 Meaning

Meanings

  • 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[nei4 rou2 wai4 gang1]

Simplified Characters

外 刚 内 柔

Traditional Characters

外 剛 內 柔

Pinyin

wai4 gang1 nei4 rou2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

外wai4outside 刚gang1hard 内nei4inside 柔rou2soft