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大惊小怪 (dà jīng xiǎo guài) — to make a fuss about nothing (idiom); to get overly alarmed over trifles

Definition

A 成语 used to scold or comment that someone is overreacting to something trivial — 'making a big fuss over nothing'. Often paired with 别 or 何必, as in 别大惊小怪 ('don't make a fuss').

phrase
to make a fuss about nothing (idiom)to get overly alarmed over trifles

Examples

  • ，大惊小怪。
    Jiù diū le yí kuài qián, bié dà jīng xiǎo guài de.
    You only lost one yuan — don't make a fuss.
  • 大惊小怪，。
    Tā kàn jiàn yì zhī xiǎo chóng jiù dà jīng xiǎo guài, bǎ dà jiā dōu dòu xiào le.
    She made a huge fuss over a tiny bug, which made everyone laugh.
  • ，大惊小怪？
    Bú guò shì diàn nǎo chóng qǐ yí xià, nǐ hé bì yào zhè yàng dà jīng xiǎo guài?
    It's just a computer restart — why do you have to make such a big deal out of it?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

大惊greatly startled
大dàgreat惊jīngstartled
偏正Modifier + head
小怪small strange things
小xiǎosmall怪guàistrange
偏正Modifier + head

大惊 expresses being greatly startled, while 小怪 treats small things as strange.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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

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.

Open 惊 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
忄Written in full as心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
圣
圣shèng怪guài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

怪 is built from 忄, a form of 心, which relates to mind or feeling, and 圣, which gives the sound.

Open 怪 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set Phrases

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.