震惊 (zhèn jīng) — to shock, to astonish; shocked, astonished | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Strong, written tone — 'shocked/astonished' from a striking or disturbing event. Weaker than 震撼 (deep emotional or social impact) and more intense than 吃惊/惊讶.

to shockto astonishshockedastonished

Examples

震惊。
Zhè jiàn shì zhèn jīng le suǒ yǒu rén.
This matter shocked everyone.
，震惊。
Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā fēi cháng zhèn jīng.
Upon hearing this news, he was very shocked.
震惊。
Tā de tū rán lí kāi ràng dà jiā gǎn dào zhèn jīng.
His sudden departure made everyone feel shocked.

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

震 and 惊 both convey shock and startled feeling, so it means to astonish.

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.

雨辰震

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

辰

辰chén震zhèn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

震 combines 雨 (rain) with 辰 (chén), which gives the sound; 雨 is the part associated with the character’s meaning.

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.

Appears in

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