外圆内方
wài yuán nèi fāng
Pinyin

Definition

外圆内方
 - 
wài yuán nèi fāng
  1. lit. outside-flexible, inside-firm (idiom)
  2. fig. velvet glove

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

lìng wài
  1. 1 additional
  2. 2 in addition
  3. 3 besides
  4. 4 separate
  5. 5 other
  6. 6 moreover
  7. 7 furthermore
dì fāng
  1. 1 region
  2. 2 regional (away from the central administration)
  3. 3 local
wài
  1. 1 outside
  2. 2 in addition
  3. 3 foreign
  4. 4 external
wài tào
  1. 1 coat
  2. 2 jacket
  3. 3 CL:件[jiàn]
wài pó
  1. 1 (coll.) mother's mother
  2. 2 maternal grandmother
wài miàn
  1. 1 outside (also pr. [wài mian] for this sense)
  2. 2 surface
  3. 3 exterior
  4. 4 external appearance
guān fāng
  1. 1 government
  2. 2 official (approved or issued by an authority)
duì fāng
  1. 1 counterpart
  2. 2 other person involved
  3. 3 opposite side
  4. 4 other side
  5. 5 receiving party
yì wài
  1. 1 unexpected
  2. 2 accident
  3. 3 mishap
  4. 4 CL:個|个[gè]
Fāng
  1. 1 surname Fang
fāng biàn
  1. 1 convenient
  2. 2 suitable
  3. 3 to facilitate
  4. 4 to make things easy
  5. 5 having money to spare
  6. 6 (euphemism) to relieve oneself
fāng xiàng
  1. 1 direction
  2. 2 orientation
  3. 3 path to follow
  4. 4 CL:個|个[gè]
fāng shì
  1. 1 way
  2. 2 manner
  3. 3 style
  4. 4 mode
  5. 5 pattern
  6. 6 CL:個|个[gè]
fāng fǎ
  1. 1 method
  2. 2 way
  3. 3 means
  4. 4 CL:個|个[gè]
fāng miàn
  1. 1 respect
  2. 2 aspect
  3. 3 field
  4. 4 side
  5. 5 CL:個|个[gè]
Dōng fāng
  1. 1 the East
  2. 2 the Orient
  3. 3 two-character surname Dongfang
xià fāng
  1. 1 underneath
  2. 2 below
  3. 3 the underside
  4. 4 world of mortals
  5. 5 to descend to the world of mortals (of Gods)
zhōng wài
  1. 1 Sino-foreign
  2. 2 Chinese-foreign
  3. 3 home and abroad
Zhōng fāng
  1. 1 the Chinese side (in an international venture)
zhī wài
  1. 1 outside
  2. 2 excluding

Idioms (20)

一醉方休
yī zuì fāng xiū
  1. 1 to get thoroughly drunk (idiom)
  2. 2 to get plastered
不以规矩,不能成方圆
bù yǐ guī ju , bù néng chéng fāng yuán
  1. 1 without rules, nothing can be done (idiom, from Mencius); one must follow some rules
不足为外人道
bù zú wéi wài rén dào
  1. 1 no use to tell others
  2. 2 let's keep this between ourselves (idiom)
九霄云外
jiǔ xiāo yún wài
  1. 1 beyond the topmost clouds (idiom)
  2. 2 unimaginably far away
人外有人,天外有天
rén wài yǒu rén , tiān wài yǒu tiān
  1. 1 in the wider world there are people more talented than oneself (idiom)
仇人相见,分外眼红
chóu rén xiāng jiàn , fèn wài yǎn hóng
  1. 1 when the enemies come face to face, their eyes blaze with hatred (idiom)
付之度外
fù zhī dù wài
  1. 1 to think nothing of doing sth (idiom)
  2. 2 to do sth without considering the risks
  3. 3 to leave out of consideration
来日方长
lái rì fāng cháng
  1. 1 the future is long (idiom); there will be ample time for that later
  2. 2 We'll cross that bridge when we get there
信孚中外
xìn fú zhōng wài
  1. 1 to be trusted both at home and abroad (idiom)
传播四方
chuán bō sì fāng
  1. 1 to disseminate in every direction (idiom)
兄弟阋于墙,外御其侮
xiōng dì xì yú qiáng , wài yù qí wǔ
  1. 1 internal disunity dissolves at the threat of an invasion from outside (idiom)
内忧外困
nèi yōu wài kùn
  1. 1 internal trouble and outside aggression (idiom); in a mess both domestically and abroad
内忧外患
nèi yōu wài huàn
  1. 1 internal trouble and outside aggression (idiom); in a mess both domestically and abroad
出乎意外
chū hū yì wài
  1. 1 beyond expectation (idiom); unexpected
出人意外
chū rén yì wài
  1. 1 turned out other than expected (idiom); unexpected
千方百计
qiān fāng bǎi jì
  1. 1 lit. thousand ways, a hundred plans (idiom); by every possible means
古今中外
gǔ jīn zhōng wài
  1. 1 at all times and in all places (idiom)
喜出望外
xǐ chū wàng wài
  1. 1 to be pleased beyond one's expectations (idiom)
  2. 2 overjoyed at the turn of events
在家靠父母,出外靠朋友
zài jiā kào fù mǔ , chū wài kào péng you
  1. 1 one depends on one's parents when at home, and on one's friends when away from home (idiom)
外来成语
wài lái chéng yǔ
  1. 1 loan idiom

Sample Sentences