chicken-hearted; cowardly
Colloquial loanword describing someone who is timid or easily scared. Often used in casual, sometimes self-deprecating contexts.
He's chicken-hearted, so he never watches horror movies.
Not having the courage to confess makes me feel like a coward.
Variant with interpunct; less common in running text.
Loanword from English 'chicken heart(ed)', referring to cowardice.