Chinese word

目瞪口呆

Pronunciation

Pinyinmù dèng kǒu dāi

Meaning

  • adjectivestunned

Example

我听到这个消息，目瞪口呆。wǒ tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xī mù dèng kǒu dāi

When I heard the news, I was stunned.

Illustration for 目瞪口呆 (stunned)

More examples

他突然给出的答案让老师目瞪口呆了。tā tū rán gěi chū de dá àn ràng lǎo shī mù dèng kǒu dāi le

His sudden answer left the teacher stunned.

Core concept

An unexpected shock leaves the eyes wide, the mouth open, and the mind briefly frozen.

Common phrases

  • 使人目瞪口呆shǐ rén mù dèng kǒu dāi

    leave people stunned

  • 目瞪口呆的场面mù dèng kǒu dāi de chǎng miàn

    a scene that leaves one stunned

  • 看得目瞪口呆kàn de mù dèng kǒu dāi

    watch in stunned amazement

Similar words

震惊zhèn jīng: Deeply shocked by an event, with a strong emotional reaction to what happened.
惊讶jīng yà: Surprised by something unexpected or unplanned.
吃惊chī jīng: Suddenly surprised by an event or piece of news, in common spoken use.

Definition in Chinese

受到出乎意料的事情影响，一时无法反应，面部表情僵住，常表现为眼睛睁大、嘴巴微张。shòu dào chū hū yì liào de shì qíng yíng xiǎng yì shí wú fǎ fǎn yìng miàn bù biǎo qíng jiāng zhù cháng biǎo xiàn wèi yǎn jīng zhēng dà zuǐ bā wēi zhāng

Word origin

目 (mù, "eye") + 瞪 (dèng, "stare wide-eyed") + 口 (kǒu, "mouth") + 呆 (dāi, "blank") form a literal picture of surprise stopping normal speech and response.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, this vivid four-character idiom commonly follows the subject as a predicate, describing a person's visible reaction rather than a lasting trait.

Other meanings

  • astoundedadjective
  • dazedadjective

Opposites

  • 泰然自若tài rán zì ruòcalm and composedadjective

Word lists with this word