Chinese idioms 5: imaginary fears

Hi everyone! Back from summer break, I am going to present some four-characters Chinese idioms  (chengyu) that express in a metaphorical way the concept of imaginary fear.

  The first one is 杯弓蛇影 bēi gōng shé yǐng.

    This chengyu refers to the episode of the Han Dynasty (30 - 220 AD) where the shape of a bow hung on the wall, which is reflected in a cup, is mistaken for
the shadow of a snake. This idiom can also be found with another character order: 弓影杯蛇 gōng yǐng bēi shé.

 
   The second chengyu is 草木皆兵 cǎo mù jiē bīng.

 Having the same meaning as the first chengyu, this is about being frightened to the point of imagining enemy soldiers hidden behind grass and trees.

   The third chengyu is 风声鹤唳 fēng shēng hè lì:

Here the sound of the wind (风声 fēngshēng) and the cry of a crane (鹤唳 hè lì) are perceived as the war cry of the enemies. It can be translated as "apprehend danger in every sound". It derives from a context of war, but can be used in other situations that present similar emotions.

      Apart from these three idioms, a more common one exists, having a similar meaning: 疑神疑鬼 yí shén yí guǐ:

This idiom can be translated as "suspect everyone and everything without evidence".

   See you next post! O(∩_∩)O~