惊弓之鸟

Traditional form:

驚弓之鳥

Pinyin (reading):

jīnggōngzhīniǎo

Definitions:

• lit. a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow (idiom)
• fig. sb who frightens easily, due to past experiences

Characters:

• 惊 - to frighten, to startle; surprise, alarm
• 弓 - bow; curved, arched
• 之 - marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; to go to
• 鸟 - bird

Traditional characters:

• 驚 - to frighten, to startle; surprise, alarm
• 弓 - bow; curved, arched
• 之 - marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; to go to
• 鳥 - bird