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惊弓之鸟

jīng gōng zhī niǎo

4-character word Traditional 驚弓之鳥

What 惊弓之鸟 means

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

The characters in 惊弓之鸟

• 惊jīngto startle; to be frightened; to be scared
• 弓gōnga bow (weapon); to bend; to arch (one's back etc)
• 之zhī(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的; him; her
• 鸟niǎobird; "bird" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 196)…

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• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read jīng gōng zhī niǎo correctly.
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