绵 里 藏 针

mián lǐ cáng zhēndictionary entry

lit. a needle concealed in silk floss (idiom) / fig. ruthless character behind a gentle appearance / a wolf in sheep's clothing / an iron fist in a velvet glove

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-319fb4852e6b2250. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

綿裡藏針 绵里藏针 [mian2 li3 cang2 zhen1] /lit. a needle concealed in silk floss (idiom)/fig. ruthless character behind a gentle appearance/a wolf in sheep's clothing/an iron fist in a velvet glove/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 綿裡藏針

绵
mián
silk floss / continuous / soft / weak / mild-mannered (dialect) / cotton
里
lǐ
lining / interior / inside / internal / also written 裏|里[lǐ] / li, ancient measure of length, approx. 500 m / neighborhood / ancient administrative unit of 25 families / (Tw) borough, administrative unit between the township 鎮|镇[zhèn] and neighborhood 鄰|邻[lín] levels
Lǐ
surname Li
藏
cáng
to conceal / to hide away / to harbor / to store / to collect
zàng
storehouse / depository / Buddhist or Taoist scripture
Zàng
Tibetan ethnic group / Tibet Autonomous Region (short name for 西藏自治區|西藏自治区[Xī zàng Zì zhì qū])
针
zhēn
needle / pin / injection / stitch / CL:根[gēn],支[zhī] / variant of 針|针[zhēn], needle

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.