惊弓之鸟

1. • a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow (idiom)

     lit.

2. • sb who frightens easily, due to past experiences

     fig.

Character by character

• 惊(jīng)startle
• 弓(gōng)surname Gong
• 之(zhī)(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的 de)
• 鸟(niǎo)bird