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小鳥依人

简小鸟依人 · 繁小鳥依人

Mandarin · pinyin xiǎo niǎo yī rén

lit. like a little bird relying on people (idiom)
fig. cute and helpless-looking

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Characters in this entry

小: xiǎo · small, tiny, insignificant
鳥: niǎo · bird; Kangxi radical 196
依: yī · rely on, be set in; consent, obey a wish
人: rén · man; people; mankind; someone else
鸟: niǎo · bird; Kangxi radical 196

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–3–1–2 · xiao3 niao3 yi1 ren2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

小鳥依人 · find source passages ↗ · 小鸟依人 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

siu2 niu5 ji1 jan4

Cantonese word readings for 小鳥依人. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) the appearance of a woman or a child who is dependant upon others, and is also dainty and cute

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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