刀子嘴,豆腐心

Mandarin · pinyin dāo zi zuǐ , dòu fu xīn

Meanings

  1. (proverb) to have a sharp tongue but a soft heart
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Characters in this entry

刀
dāo · knife; old coin; measure
子
zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
嘴
zuǐ · mouth, lips
豆
dòu · beans, peas; bean-shaped; Kangxi radical 151
腐
fǔ · rot, decay, spoil; rotten
心
xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

dou1 zi2 zeoi2 ,dau6 fu6 sam1

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

刀子嘴,豆腐心 · dao1 zi5 zui3 , dou4 fu5 xin1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 13,393
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record刀子嘴,豆腐心 刀子嘴,豆腐心 [dao1 zi5 zui3 , dou4 fu5 xin1] /(proverb) to have a sharp tongue but a soft heart/