Definition
吓倒 is a resultative verb (动结式) formed by 吓 'to frighten' + 倒 'to fall'. It means to be so frightened that one falls or collapses, but is often used figuratively to mean 'to be terrified' or 'to be scared stiff'. You can use it actively — 他的故事吓倒了我 'His story scared me so much I almost fell' — or passively — 我被他的话吓倒了 'I was terrified by his words'. The verb can take 把 or 被 constructions like any other verb, but the result complement 倒 is non-separable.
r.v.
to be terrifiedto be so frightened that one collapses(causative) to scare (someone) into collapsing or being terrified
Examples
- 吓倒。Nàge kǒngbù piàn bǎ wǒ xià dǎo le.That horror movie scared me so much I almost collapsed.
- 吓倒。Tā bèi zhè tūrúqílái de xiāoxi xià dǎo le.He was terrified by this sudden news.
- ，吓倒。Bié zài shuō guǐ gùshi le, nǐ huì bǎ dìdi xià dǎo de.Stop telling ghost stories; you'll scare your little brother to death.
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