小鳥依人

See also: 小鸟依人

Chinese

		small bird; little bird; birdie	according to; depend on; near to according to; depend on; near to; (Eastern Min) kinship prefix	man; person; people
trad. (小鳥依人)		小鳥	依	人
simp. (小鸟依人)		小鸟	依	人
Literally: “(as cute and helpless as) a little bird that must rely on a human in order to survive”.

Etymology

Originally a gloss for the character 雀 (OC *ʔsewɢ) in the historical dictionary Shuowen (2nd century):

雀，依人小鳥也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

雀，依人小鸟也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Shuowen Jiezi, circa 2^nd century CE

Què, yīrén xiǎoniǎo yě. [Pinyin]

"雀" (sparrow) is a small bird that follows humans.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): xiǎoniǎoyīrén

(Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄋㄧㄠˇ ㄧㄖㄣˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): siu² niu⁵ ji¹ jan⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: xiǎoniǎoyīrén [Phonetic: xiáoniǎoyīrén]
  - Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄋㄧㄠˇ ㄧㄖㄣˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: siǎoniǎoyirén
  - Wade–Giles: hsiao³-niao³-i¹-jên²
  - Yale: syǎu-nyǎu-yī-rén
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sheauneauiren
  - Palladius: сяоняоижэнь (sjaonjaoižɛnʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ni̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ i⁵⁵ ʐən³⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: xiǎoniǎoryīrén [Phonetic: xiáoniǎoryīrén]
  - Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄋㄧㄠˇㄦㄧㄖㄣˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: siǎoniǎoryirén
  - Wade–Giles: hsiao³-niao³-ʼrh-i¹-jên²
  - Yale: syǎu-nyǎur-yī-rén
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: sheauneauliren
  - Palladius: сяоняорижэнь (sjaonjaorižɛnʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ni̯aʊ̯ɻʷ²¹⁴⁻²¹ i⁵⁵ ʐən³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: siu² niu⁵ ji¹ jan⁴
  - Yale: síu níuh yī yàhn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: siu² niu⁵ ji¹ jan⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: xiu² niu⁵ yi¹ yen⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːu̯³⁵ niːu̯¹³ jiː⁵⁵ jɐn²¹/

Idiom

小鳥依人

the appearance of a woman or a child who is dependant upon others, and is also dainty and cute

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