虚惊 (xū jīng) — false alarm; unnecessary panic | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

false alarmunnecessary panic

Measure word · 场

Examples

虚惊，。
Dà jiā xū jīng yì chǎng, yuán lái zhǐ shì bào jǐng qì huài le.
Everyone had a false alarm — it turned out the alarm was just broken.
，虚惊。
Yī yuàn shuō kě néng shì ái zhèng, zuì hòu jiǎn chá zhèng míng shì xū jīng.
The hospital said it might be cancer, but the final test proved it was a false alarm.
，虚惊。
Bié jǐn zhāng, zhè hěn kě néng zhǐ shì yì chǎng xū jīng.
Don't be nervous; this is probably just a false alarm.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

虚 (false) and 惊 (alarm) combine to describe an alarm that is not real.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 虛; 虚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

丘丘qiūhill

Sound part声符shēngfú

虍

虍hū虛xū

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

The traditional form 虛 pairs the upper 虍, which gives the sound, with a lower part shaped like 丘, 'hill'; the simplified 虚 is a later shorthand.

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

Emotions & Feelings

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