惊吓 (jīng xià) — to frighten, to scare, to startle | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary/written verb 'to frighten / startle,' often used with 把 or in passive 受惊吓. 比吓唬 and 吓 more formal; stronger than 吓, closer to 恐吓 ('threaten') in gravity.

verb

to frightento scareto startle

Examples

惊吓。
Nà ge kǒng bù diàn yǐng bǎ hái zi men dōu jīng xià huài le.
That horror movie scared the kids badly.
惊吓。
Tū rán de shēng xiǎng jīng xià le zhèng zài xiū xi de lǎo rén.
A sudden noise startled the old man who was resting.
惊吓，。
Bú yào yòng nà zhǒng fāng shì jīng xià xiǎo dòng wù, tā men huì hài pà.
Don't frighten small animals that way; they will get scared.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

惊jīngstartle

吓xiàfrighten

惊 (startle) and 吓 (frighten) reinforce the sense of scaring someone.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

忄京惊

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

京

京jīng惊jīng

Same sound today

惊 is made from 忄 (heart) and 京, which gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

口下吓

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

下

Same sound today

吓 is built from 口 (mouth) and 下, which gives the sound; the mouth part marks a meaning connected with the mouth.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Emotions & Feelings

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