HSK 4 · Emotions

吃惊 chījīng “to be startled” in Chinese

Traditional 吃驚

What 吃惊 means

  1. to be startled
  2. to be shocked
  3. to be amazed

How to say 吃惊

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale吃chī1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale惊jīng1st tone, high and level

吃惊 in a sentence

  1. 你流利的英语让我很吃惊。

    Nǐ liúlì de Yīngyǔ ràng wǒ hěn chījīng.

    I’m amazed at your fluency in English.

    Sentence #2208990 from Tatoeba

  2. 你看起来很吃惊。

    Nǐ kànqǐlai hěn chījīng.

    You look surprised.

    Sentence #7780762 from Tatoeba

  3. 我听到这个消息很吃惊。

    Wǒ tīngdào zhè ge xiāoxi hěn chījīng.

    I was surprised by the news.

    Sentence #332632 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 吃惊 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 吃 (chī) with each of its parts in a different colour
吃chīto eat; to consume
  • 口mouth · kǒuMeaning part
  • 乞to beg · qǐSound part

口 hints at the meaning (mouth); 乞 (qǐ) hints at the sound. Compare it with chī.

The character 惊 (jīng) with each of its parts in a different colour
惊jīngto startle
  • 忄heart form of 心 · xīnMeaning part
  • 京capital city · jīngSound part

忄 hints at the meaning (heart); 京 (jīng) hints at the sound. Compare it with jīng.

How to write 吃惊

吃 6 strokes · 惊 11 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

吃惊 (chījīng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 吃惊 (chījīng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 吃惊

Words with 吃

吃chī · to eat好吃hǎochī · delicious小吃xiǎochī · snack吃亏chīkuī · to lose out吃苦chīkǔ · to endure hardship吃力chīlì · strenuous

Words with 惊

惊动jīngdòng · to disturb惊奇jīngqí · surprised惊讶jīngyà · surprised震惊zhènjīng · shocked

More words: Emotions & Feelings

得意déyì · proud of oneself烦恼fánnǎo · to be worried感动gǎndòng · to be moved感情gǎnqíng · emotion心情xīnqíng · mood辛苦xīnkǔ · exhausting幸福xìngfú · happiness愉快yúkuài · cheerful

FAQs

吃惊 (chījīng) means “to be startled” or “to be shocked”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it chījīng: chī with a 1st tone, then jīng with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 吃惊 is written 吃驚. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type chijing with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 吃惊 from the suggestions. Typing chijing into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
吃惊 is an HSK 4 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.