Tiếng Việt · Idiom Attested

kinh cung chi điểu

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In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

The bow-shocked bird — once shot at, forever flinching at anything bent.

Literally: the bird that dreads the bow

Examples

Bị lừa một lần, giờ như kinh cung chi điểu.Swindled once, he startles now at every bent branch — the bow-shocked bird.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

Sources & notes

Discovered via Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “kinh cung chi điểu” mean?

The bow-shocked bird — once shot at, forever flinching at anything bent. Literally: the bird that dreads the bow

Is “kinh cung chi điểu” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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