惊

驚

jīng

京 + 忄

Definitions

jīng (verb) to be startled; to be frightened; to be scared

jīng (noun) alarm

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 忄 represents the meaning and 京 represents the sound. Simplified form of 驚.

Semantic: 忄 Phonetic: 京

About

惊 is the simplified form of 驚, which originally combined the horse radical 馬 and the phonetic 敬 to depict a horse bolting from sudden fear. Its meaning later broadened from frightened livestock to human states of fright, alarm, or surprise. In the simplified character, the heart radical 忄 marks the psychological nature of the response, while 京 provides the sound.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他非常惊讶。

Tā fēicháng jīngyà.

He is extremely surprised.

这真是个惊喜！

Zhè zhēnshi gè jīngxǐ!

This is really a surprise!

别惊动其他人。

Bié jīngdòng qítā rén.

Don't alarm other people.

消息令人震惊。

Xiāoxi lìng rén zhènjīng.

The news is shocking.

他突然惊叫起来。

Tā túrán jīngjiào qǐlái.

He suddenly screamed.

听到这个消息，她惊得说不出话。

Tīngdào zhège xiāoxi, tā jīng de shuō bù chū huà.

Hearing this news, she was so shocked that she couldn't speak.

他的表情十分惊愕。

Tā de biǎoqíng shífēn jīng'è.

His expression is very astonished.

尽管他试图保持冷静，但那个令人惊骇的景象还是让他的心跳骤然加速。

Jǐnguǎn tā shìtú bǎochéng lěngjìng, dàn nàgè lìng rén jīnghài de jǐngxiàng háishì ràng tā de xīntiào zhòurán jiāsù.

Even though he tried to stay calm, that horrifying scene still made his heart beat suddenly accelerate.

Related Characters

Component: 京

Component: 忄

惊