嚇 meaning and stroke order
To scare, to frighten; to threaten, to intimidate
How to write 嚇, stroke by stroke
17 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 嚇
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to scare
- to intimidate
- to threaten
- (interjection showing disapproval) tut-tut
- (interjection showing astonishment)
- to frighten
- to scare
How 嚇 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 赫 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 嚇
嚇 is 口 (mouth) plus 赫 (hè), which gives the sound. Picture someone opening their mouth and letting out a loud, startling shout to scare you.
嚇 is the traditional form. Simplified Chinese writes it 吓. Read as xià, it means to frighten, and it often appears in set phrases like 嚇一跳 (xià yī tiào, to be startled). Example: 你嚇死我了。(Nǐ xià sǐ wǒ le.) You scared me to death.
Common mistake: Learners often read 恐嚇 as kǒngxià, but the standard reading there is hè: kǒnghè, meaning to threaten. Use xià for frightening someone and hè for threatening or intimidating them.
Common words with 嚇
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 嚇人 | xiàrén | to scare; scary | HSK 7-9 |
| 嚇唬 | xiàhu | to scare; to frighten | HSK 7-9 |
| 恐嚇 | kǒnghè | to threaten; to menace | HSK 7-9 |
| 嚇壞 | xiàhuài | to be terrified; to terrify sb | |
| 驚嚇 | jīngxià | to frighten; to horrify | |
| 嚇跑 | xiàpǎo | to scare away | |
| 嚇倒 | xiàdǎo | to be frightened | |
| 嚇一跳 | xiàyītiào | startled; to frighten | |
| 嚇傻 | xiàshǎ | to terrify; to scare sb |
Questions about 嚇
How many strokes are in 嚇?
嚇 is written with 17 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 嚇 mean?
嚇 (xià) means to scare, to frighten; to threaten, to intimidate. A common word with it is 吓人 (xiàrén), meaning "to scare; scary".
How do you pronounce 嚇?
嚇 is pronounced xià, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 嚇?
The radical of 嚇 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 嚇 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 嚇?
嚇 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 吓, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 嚇 and 怕?
嚇 (xià) means to scare someone else, so it is something you do to another person. 怕 (pà) means to be afraid yourself. 他嚇我 means he scared me, and 我怕他 means I am afraid of him.
Is 嚇人 a verb or an adjective?
It can be both. 別嚇人 (bié xià rén) means don't scare people. 這個電影很嚇人 (zhège diànyǐng hěn xià rén) means this movie is really scary.