目瞪口呆 (mù dèng kǒu dāi) — (idiom) dumbstruck; stunned; stupefied | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Idiom for being so shocked that one stares blankly, mouth agape. 比大吃一惊 more vivid and physical; stronger and more visual than 傻 in its 'dumbfounded' sense.

idiom

dumbstruckstunnedstupefied

Examples

，目瞪口呆，。
Tīng dào zhè ge jīng rén de xiāo xi, tā mù dèng kǒu dāi, bàn tiān shuō bù chū huà lái.
Upon hearing this shocking news, he was dumbstruck and couldn't speak for a long time.
，目瞪口呆。
Kàn dào rú cǐ měi lì de jǐng sè, wǒ men quán dōu mù dèng kǒu dāi le.
Seeing such beautiful scenery, we were all stunned.
目瞪口呆，。
Tā de tū rán cí zhí ràng tóng shì men mù dèng kǒu dāi, shuí yě méi xiǎng dào.
His sudden resignation left his colleagues stupefied; no one had expected 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.

目瞪eyes stare

目mùeyes瞪dèngstare

主谓Subject + predicate

口呆mouth stunned

口kǒumouth呆dāistunned

主谓Subject + predicate

目瞪 (eyes stare) and 口呆 (mouth stunned) combine to show stunned silence.

Characters in this word

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

目 began as a drawing of a human eye, turned sideways.

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

目登瞪

Meaning part形符xíngfú

目目mùeye

Sound part声符shēngfú

登

登dēng瞪dèng

Same sound today

瞪 pairs 目, an eye, with 登, which gives the sound.

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

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

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

口木呆

口口kǒumouth
木木mùwood

呆 combines 口 (mouth) and 木 (wood) to show something dull or wooden, which came to mean foolish.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Emotions & Feelings Idioms & Set Phrases

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