弓影浮杯 — “Bow shadow in the cup”
弓影浮杯 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be easily startled or frightened by one's own imagination or groundless suspicions, often mistaking a harmless object for a threat; to conjure up imaginary fears”. Literally, “Bow shadow in the cup”.
弓影浮杯 Pronunciation and Pinyin
弓影浮杯 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 弓影浮杯
Origin and Story of 弓影浮杯
During the Jin Dynasty, Le Guang, a native of Henan, was known for his hospitality. When a friend stopped visiting for a long time, Le Guang found it strange and went to pay him a visit.
The friend explained that during his last visit, he saw a snake in his wine cup and fell ill after drinking it. Puzzled, Le Guang returned home and investigated the cause.
He discovered that the shadow of a horn bow hanging on the wall was reflected in the wine cup. When the friend heard this explanation, his illness immediately disappeared.
Idioms Related to 弓影浮杯
Synonyms of 弓影浮杯
More idioms starting with 弓
- gōng弓shàng上xián弦，，dāo刀chū出qiào鞘fully prepared for action
- gōng弓nǔ弩shàng上xián弦，，dāo刀jiàn剑chū出qiào鞘fully prepared for battle
- gōng弓yǐng影bēi杯shé蛇frightened by imaginary fears
- gōng弓zhé折dāo刀jìn尽exhausted of resources, no fight left
- gōng弓diào调mǎ马fú服make thorough and complete preparations
- gōng弓mǎ马xián娴shú熟adept at archery and horsemanship
Recommended tools
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →Questions about 弓影浮杯
What does 弓影浮杯 mean?
弓影浮杯 (gōng yǐng fú bēi) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be easily startled or frightened by one's own imagination or groundless suspicions, often mistaking a harmless object for a threat; to conjure up imaginary fears”.
How do you pronounce 弓影浮杯?
弓影浮杯 is pronounced gōng yǐng fú bēi in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 弓影浮杯 literally mean?
Literally, 弓影浮杯 means “Bow shadow in the cup”. It is used to mean “to be easily startled or frightened by one's own imagination or groundless suspicions, often mistaking a harmless object for a threat; to conjure up imaginary fears”.
Where does 弓影浮杯 come from?
弓影浮杯 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 弓影浮杯?
形容疑神疑鬼，自相惊扰。