欺软怕硬

qī ruǎn pà yìng

to bully the weak and fear the strong

Character by character

欺qī
bully

软ruǎn
soft

怕pà
fear

硬yìng
hard

他就会欺软怕硬，见了领导连话都不敢说。

He only picks on the weak — in front of the boss he doesn’t dare say a word.

Tone: negative (criticism).

The classic description of a bully or a coward.

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