杯弓蛇影 in English bei1 gong1 she2 ying3 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) to see a bow reflected in a cup as a snake (idiomatic expression); metaphorically unnecessary suspicions
  • overly fearful

Simplified Characters

杯 弓 蛇 影

Traditional Characters

杯 弓 蛇 影

Pinyin

bei1 gong1 she2 ying3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

杯bei1cup 弓gong1surname Gong 蛇she2variant of 蛇[she2] 影ying3picture