欺軟怕硬
Chinese
| take unfair advantage of; to deceive; to cheat | soft; flexible | to be afraid; to fear | hard; stiff; strong hard; stiff; strong; firm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (欺軟怕硬) | 欺 | 軟 | 怕 | 硬 | |
| simp. (欺软怕硬) | 欺 | 软 | 怕 | 硬 | |
Etymology
First attested in c. 1300 as 怕硬欺軟 / 怕硬欺软, in Yuan drama The Injustice to Dou E penned by Guan Hanqing:
- 天地也，做得個怕硬欺軟，卻元來也這般順水推船。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
- From: c. 1300, 關漢卿,《竇娥冤》
- Tiāndì yě, zuò de ge pàyìngqīruǎn, què yuánlái yě zhèbān shùnshuǐtuīchuán. [Pinyin]
- Oh, Heaven and Earth, you laud the strong and trash the weak. All along you’re just going with the flow.
天地也，做得个怕硬欺软，却元来也这般顺水推船。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: qīruǎnpàyìng
- Zhuyin: ㄑㄧ ㄖㄨㄢˇ ㄆㄚˋ ㄧㄥˋ
- Tongyong Pinyin: ciruǎnpàyìng
- Wade–Giles: chʻi1-juan3-pʻa4-ying4
- Yale: chī-rwǎn-pà-yìng
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chiroanpahyinq
- Palladius: цижуаньпаин (cižuanʹpain)
- Sinological IPA (key): /t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵ ʐu̯än²¹⁴⁻²¹ pʰä⁵¹⁻⁵³ iŋ⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese)+
Idiom
欺軟怕硬