Chinese word

惊人

Pronunciation

Pinyinjīng rén

Meaning

  • adjectiveamazing

Example

他的进步真惊人。tā de jìn bù zhēn jīng rén

His progress is truly amazing.

Illustration for 惊人 (amazing)

More examples

报道中提到那座城市的人口增长速度惊人。bào dào zhōng tí dào nà zuò chéng shì de rén kǒu zēng zhǎng sù dù jīng rén

The report mentioned that the city's population growth rate is amazing.

Core concept

A striking gap between what normally happens and what is seen now, large enough to draw immediate human attention.

Common phrases

  • 惊人的表现jīng rén de biǎo xiàn

    amazing performance

  • 惊人的速度jīng rén de sù dù

    amazing speed

  • 惊人的效率jīng rén de xiào lǜ

    amazing efficiency

Similar words

出人意料chū rén yì liào: Unexpected to a striking degree because it goes well beyond common expectations.
骇人听闻hài rén tīng wén: Extremely shocking because the facts or content are frightening to hear.

Definition in Chinese

形容事物或现象超出平常或预想范围，让人感到吃惊的。xíng róng shì wù huò xiàn xiàng chāo chū píng cháng huò yù xiǎng fàn wéi ràng rén gǎn dào chī jīng de

Word origin

The compound 惊人 (jīngrén, "astonishing") joins 惊 (jīng, "to surprise") with 人 (rén, "person"), giving the sense of something that makes people react with surprise.

Usage tips

  • The adjective can describe both favorable and unfavorable outcomes, and the surrounding situation shows whether the speaker admires the scale or is concerned by it.

Other meanings

  • astonishingadjective
  • remarkableadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word