chī​ruǎn​bù​chī​yìng

to respond to persuasion but not to force

  • created sense approved 吃软不吃硬/吃軟不吃硬 · chī​ruǎn​bù​chī​yìng · to respond to persuasion but not to force — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    吃软不吃硬 / 吃軟不吃硬

    chī​ruǎn​bù​chī​yìng

    to respond to persuasion but not to force

    (idiom) amenable to coaxing but refusing to submit to coercion; literally "to eat soft food but refuse hard food"

    吃 (literal) → 吃 · chī · to eat 软 (literal) → 软/軟 · ruǎn · non-forceful 不 (literal) → 不 · bù · not 吃 (literal) → 吃 · chī · to eat 硬 (literal) → 硬 · yìng · firm

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense