软骨头

軟骨頭

ruǎngǔtou

noun #35,810

Measure Word

一个软骨头 gè

Meanings

1 weakling
2 coward
3 spineless person

Characters

head (noun suffix)

Examples

他骂自己是个软骨头，关键时刻不敢站出来。

Tā mà zìjǐ shì ge ruǎngǔtou, guānjiàn shíkè bù gǎn zhàn chūlái.

He cursed himself as a coward who didn't dare to step up at the critical moment.

面对压力，他没有做软骨头。

Miànduì yālì, tā méiyǒu zuò ruǎngǔtou.

Facing the pressure, he didn't act like a spineless coward.

Tips

memory

Literally 'soft bone' — a vivid parallel to English 'spineless'. Both languages reach for the same image of a person whose skeleton can't hold them upright when pressure comes.

Stroke Order

软 ruǎn

骨 gǔ

头 tóu