鸟兽散

鳥獸散

niǎoshòusàn

idiom

Meanings

1 to scatter like birds and beasts
2 to flee in every direction (usually of a defeated crowd)

Characters

to scatter; disperse

Examples

警察一到，人群作鸟兽散。

Jǐngchá yī dào, rénqún zuò niǎoshòusàn.

The moment the police arrived, the crowd scattered in every direction.

老板一发火，员工作鸟兽散。

Lǎobǎn yī fāhuǒ, yuángōng zuò niǎoshòusàn.

One outburst from the boss and the employees scattered like birds.

敌军一见溃败，立刻鸟兽散。

Dí jūn yī jiàn kuìbài, lìkè niǎoshòusàn.

As soon as the enemy troops saw they were beaten, they broke and fled.

Tips

history

From 《汉书·李陵传》: after Li Ling's army was surrounded by Xiongnu forces, he told his men that survivors should '各鸟兽散' — scatter each man his own way to make it back home.

usage

Commonly 作鸟兽散 ('to perform the birds-and-beasts scatter'). The formulaic pattern survives from classical Chinese into modern writing.

Stroke Order

鸟 niǎo

兽 shòu

散 sàn