外ㄨㄞˋwài剛ㄍㄤgāng內ㄋㄟˋnèi柔ㄖㄡˊróu

  1. 外表剛強，內心柔弱。宋·吳曾《能改齋漫錄·卷一○·議論》：「兵戈既起，將帥擅權，武吏功臣，過求姑息。邊蕃遠郡，得以驕矜，外剛內柔，上陵下替，此為屈辱又非多乎？」也作「內柔外剛」。

英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[nei4 rou2 wai4 gang1]