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.]

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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 ㄧ ㄖㄣˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): siu² niu⁵ ji¹ jan⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiǎoniǎoyīrén [Phonetic: xiáoniǎoyīrén]
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄠˇ ㄋㄧㄠˇ ㄧ ㄖㄣˊ
    • 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 ㄋㄧㄠˇㄦ ㄧ ㄖㄣˊ
    • 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

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