惊弓之鸟 (jīng gōng zhī niǎo) — a person who is easily frightened (from a past trauma); a panic-stricken person

Definition

A chengyu for someone badly startled once and now jumpy forever — literally 'a bird startled by the bow', used for trauma-based nervousness rather than ordinary fear.

noun
a person who is easily frightened (from a past trauma)a panic-stricken person

Examples

  • ，惊弓之鸟，。
    Jīng lì le nà cì shī bài hòu, tā chéng le jīng gōng zhī niǎo, duì rèn hé pī píng dōu hěn mǐn gǎn.
    After that failure, he became a nervous wreck, extremely sensitive to any criticism.
  • ，惊弓之鸟，。
    Zì cóng nà cì chē huò hòu, tā jiù xiàng jīng gōng zhī niǎo, tīng dào qì chē lǎ ba shēng jiù hài pà.
    Ever since that car accident, she's been like a scared bird, frightened at the sound of a car horn.
  • ，惊弓之鸟，。
    Gōng sī cái yuán hòu, yuán gōng men dōu chéng le jīng gōng zhī niǎo, yì tīng dào lǐng dǎo kāi huì jiù jǐn zhāng.
    After the company layoffs, the employees all became panicky, getting nervous at the mere mention of a meeting.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
京
京jīng惊jīng
Same sound today

惊 is made from 忄 (heart) and 京, which gives the sound.

Open 惊 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 弓 is a picture of a bow.

Open 弓 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape pairs 止, a foot, with 一, a beginning place, and means to go.

Open 之 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鳥; 鸟 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 鳥 came from a drawing of a bird with a dangling tail; the simplified 鸟 is a later abbreviation.

Open 鸟 →

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