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色厲內荏

简色厉内荏 · 繁色厲內荏

Mandarin · pinyin sè lì nèi rěn

lit. show strength while weak inside (idiom); appearing fierce while cowardly at heart
a sheep in wolf's clothing

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Characters in this entry

色: sè · color, tint, hue, shade; form, body; beauty, desire for beauty; Kangxi radical 139
厲: Look up this written character
內: nèi · inside, interior; domestic
荏: rěn · beans; soft, pliable; herb
厉: lì · whetstone; grind, sharpen; whet
内: nèi · inside

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4–4–3 · se4 li4 nei4 ren3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

色厲內荏 · find source passages ↗ · 色厉内荏 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sik1 lai6 noi6 jam5 · sik1 lai6 noi6 nam4

Cantonese word readings for 色厲內荏. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to appear tough on the outside but be weak and timid on the inside

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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