震撼 (zhèn hàn) — to shake; to shock; to stun | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A transitive verb meaning 'to shake / stun' with strong emotional force, used for events, scenes, or experiences that deeply affect people. Unlike 震动, 震撼 emphasizes emotional impact rather than physical vibration.

verb

to shaketo shockto stun

Examples

震撼。
Nà cì jīng lì shēn shēn zhèn hàn le wǒ.
That experience deeply shocked me.
震撼。
Bào zhà shēng zhèn hàn le zhěng gè shān gǔ.
The explosion shook the entire valley.
震撼。
Zhè bù diàn yǐng de jié wěi zhèn hàn le suǒ yǒu guān zhòng.
The ending of this movie stunned all the audience.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

震 and 撼 both convey shaking, so it means to stun or deeply move.

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Emotions & Feelings 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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