HSK · Level 6
133 words
Chinese word
惊
Pronunciation
Pinyinjīng
Meaning
- verbbe startled
Example
我被突然的声音惊到了。wǒ bèi tū rán de shēng yīn jīng dào le
I was startled by the sudden sound.
More examples
看到那张照片，我不由得吃惊。kàn dào nà zhāng zhào piān wǒ bù yóu de chī jīng
Seeing that photo, I couldn't help being surprised.
Core concept
An unexpected stimulus breaks calm and produces an immediate alarm response, or makes someone else have that response.
Common phrases
吃惊chī jīng
be surprised
受惊shòu jīng
be startled
被惊到bèi jīng dào
be startled
Similar words
吃惊chī jīng: Become so suddenly surprised that speech briefly fails and the face freezes.
惊讶jīng yà: Feel surprised when something happens differently from what was expected.
震惊zhèn jīng: Become deeply shocked by a serious or highly important event.
惊吓jīng xià: Cause someone to feel sudden fear through an unexpected sound, event, or movement.
Definition in Chinese
表示因突发事物或声音等而感到吃惊或害怕的心理或生理反应，作动词时也可表示使人产生这种反应。biǎo shì yīn tū fā shì wù huò shēng yīn děng ér gǎn dào chī jīng huò hài pà de xīn lǐ huò shēng lí fǎn yìng zuò dòng cí shí yě kě biǎo shì shǐ rén chǎn shēng zhè zhǒng fǎn yìng
Word origin
惊 (jīng, "to startle") is the simplified form of an older character that included a horse component, linking the word to a horse's sudden alarm and its later human sense.
Usage tips
- In conversation, a passive pattern puts the affected person first, while an active pattern puts the sudden cause first, which helps learners follow brief accounts of surprises.
Other meanings
- startleverb
Opposites
- 镇定zhèn dìngcalm downverb