Definition
This chengyu (four-character idiom) comes from a story in the 'Strategies of the Warring States' about a skilled archer who shoots a bird with just the sound of his bowstring, because the bird was already traumatized by a previous arrow wound. Today it describes a person who is extremely jumpy or panic-stricken due to a past traumatic experience — equivalent to saying someone is 'once bitten, twice shy' or a 'nervous wreck'. You can use it as a noun to label someone's state of mind, often after a collapse, accident, or other shock.
n.
a person who is easily frightened (from a past trauma)a panic-stricken person
Examples
- ，惊弓之鸟，。Jīnglì le nà cì shībài hòu, tā chéng le jīng gōng zhī niǎo, duì rènhé pīpíng dōu hěn mǐngǎn.After that failure, he became a nervous wreck, extremely sensitive to any criticism.
- ，惊弓之鸟，。Zìcóng nà cì chēhuò hòu, tā jiù xiàng jīng gōng zhī niǎo, tīng dào qìchē lǎba shēng jiù hàipà.Ever since that car accident, she's been like a scared bird, frightened at the sound of a car horn.
- ，惊弓之鸟，。Gōngsī cáiyuán hòu, yuángōngmen dōu chéng le jīng gōng zhī niǎo, yì tīng dào lǐngdǎo kāihuì jiù jǐnzhāng.After the company layoffs, the employees all became panicky, getting nervous at the mere mention of a meeting.
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