The Chinese word "小鸟依人" is formed by sequentially combining four characters: "小" meaning small, "鸟" meaning bird, which together create "small bird", followed by "依" meaning to rely on or lean against, and "人" meaning person, which together create "relies on person". This literal combination results in a vivid phrase depicting a small bird leaning on a human, used idiomatically to describe someone who is delicately dependent.