Meaning of 吓
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to frighten
- to scare
- to scare
- to intimidate
- to threaten
- (interjection showing disapproval) tut-tut
- (interjection showing astonishment)
How to use 吓
吓 (xià) is a common verb meaning to scare someone, and it often takes a result complement like 吓坏 (xiàhuài) or 吓跑 (xiàpǎo). It frequently appears in the passive with 被 or in the phrase 吓了一跳. Example: 你吓了我一跳。(Nǐ xià le wǒ yí tiào.) You gave me a fright.
吓 combines 口 (mouth) with 下 (xià, down). Picture a sudden shout from a mouth that makes someone jump and drop down in fright, and 下 also gives the sound xià.
Common mistake: Learners often read 恐吓 as kǒngxià, but in this word it is pronounced hè (kǒnghè), meaning to threaten. Also do not confuse 吓 with 下 (xià, down), which has no 口 on the left.
吓 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
吓 xià · to frighten · 6 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 吓.
Questions about 吓
What does 吓 mean?
吓 (xià) means "to frighten; to scare" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 吓?
吓 is made of 1 character: 吓 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.
Is 吓 an HSK word?
Yes. 吓 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 吓 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 吓 is written 嚇.
What is the difference between 吓 and 怕?
吓 (xià) means to scare someone else, so it acts on an object, as in 别吓我 (bié xià wǒ, don't scare me). 怕 (pà) means to be afraid of something, as in 我怕狗 (wǒ pà gǒu, I am afraid of dogs).
How do you say something is scary using 吓?
Use 吓人 (xiàrén), which works like an adjective meaning scary or frightening. For example, 这部电影很吓人 (zhè bù diànyǐng hěn xiàrén) means this movie is really scary.