📖 Meaning
This idiom describes a state of great alarm and panic, likened to birds and fish that scatter in fright. It conveys a scene of widespread terror where people flee in chaos. The phrase evokes the sudden, instinctive fear reaction of animals disturbed in their natural habitat.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom draws from the natural imagery of birds and fish reacting to sudden disturbances. No single classical text is definitively cited as its origin; rather, it evolved organically from common literary descriptions of animals in flight. Writers over the dynasties used such nature-based metaphors to depict human panic and disorder. The compound phrase crystallized into a fixed expression over time through repeated literary usage.
💡 Example Usage
敌人突袭村庄，百姓鸟惊鱼骇，纷纷逃入深山躲避。
When the enemy suddenly raided the village, the common people scattered in panic like startled birds and fish, fleeing into the mountains to hide.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 鸟惊鱼骇
- Pinyin: niǎo jīng yú hài
- Literal Translation: bird, startled, fish, frightened
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4