ChinesePod

1 lit. the mouth that has been fed by others is soft, the hand that has received doesn't reach (idiom)
2 fig. one is partial to those from whom presents have been accepted

吃软不吃硬

chī ruǎn bù chī yìng

1 lit. eats soft food, but refuses hard food (idiom)
2 amenable to coaxing but not coercion

嘴快心直

zuǐ kuài xīn zhí

1 outspoken and frank (idiom)

嘴甜心苦

zuǐ tián xīn kǔ

1 sweet mouth, bitter heart (idiom); insincere flattery

Sample Sentences

死鸭子嘴硬”表示一个人很固执。大家都觉得他是错的，他却不承认自己是错的。

sǐyāzizuǐyìng ”biǎoshì yī ge rén hěn gùzhí 。dàjiā dōu juéde tā shì cuò de ，tā què bù chéngrèn zìjǐ shì cuò de 。

“A dead duck’s mouth is hard.” means the person is stubborn to a fault. Everyone thinks he is wrong, but he doesn’t admit it.

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他这个人死鸭子嘴硬，你别浪费口水跟他吵了。

tā zhè ge rén sǐyāzizuǐyìng ，nǐ bié làngfèi kǒushuǐ gēn tā chǎo le 。

He is as stubborn as a mule. Stop wasting your breath arguing with him.

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你不要死鸭子嘴硬了，说谎了还不承认。

nǐ bùyào sǐyāzizuǐyìng le ，shuōhuǎng le hái bù chéngrèn 。

Stop being as stubborn as a mule. You lied and denied your mistake.

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哎！我看你，就是死鸭子嘴硬。

āi ！wǒ kàn nǐ ，jiùshì sǐyāzi zuǐyìng 。

Agh! Look at you - you're stubborn as all can be.

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你就是嘴硬。剩的就是我们这种人，渴望完美爱情，却不知不觉一晃就成剩女了。

nǐ jiùshì zuǐyìng 。shèng de jiùshì wǒmen zhèzhǒng rén ，kěwàng wánměi àiqíng ，què bùzhībùjué yī huǎng jiù chéng shèngnǚ le 。

You're just talking tough. We're those girls that are leftover – always longing for a perfect relationship, but then, before you know it, you've become a 'leftover woman.'

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得了吧。我看你全身上下没一个地方有力气，就是嘴硬。

dé le ba 。wǒ kàn nǐ quánshēn shàngxià méi yī ge dìfang yǒu lìqi ，jiùshì zuǐyìng 。

Give it up. The way I see it, you don't have any real strength in your whole body. You just talk tough.

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