How do you say "surprised" in Chinese?

惊讶

jīng yà

Adjective Hanzi

In Chinese, "surprised" is 惊讶 (jīng yà).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

You'll want jīng yà to carry "jīng" held flat and high (first tone), then "yà" snapped down sharply (fourth tone).

Writing and usage

惊讶 is written using hanzi. It's a adjective, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.

Example sentence

她对这份礼物感到惊讶。

tā duì zhè fèn lǐ wù gǎn dào jīng yà 。

She was surprised by the gift.

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How to remember 惊讶

The characters 惊讶 feel like surprised in miniature; let that image ride along with the sound "jīng yà".

Related words

Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.

Questions about 惊讶

How do you pronounce 惊讶?

You'll want jīng yà to carry "jīng" held flat and high (first tone), then "yà" snapped down sharply (fourth tone).

Is 惊讶 formal or casual?

惊讶 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.

How is 惊讶 used in Chinese?

惊讶 is used the same way as the equivalent English adjective. For example: 她对这份礼物感到惊讶。 (She was surprised by the gift.).

Where can I practice Chinese words for free?

You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Surprised" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Chinese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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