吓

嚇
xià
HSK 5
#1,464 most
frequent character
to frighten, to scare, to intimidate
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

吓 xià has 下 xià as its sound part and 口 mouth as its meaning part. It first meant the sound of a furious person. The meaning grew to frighten or scare. Read hè, it means to intimidate or threaten.

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Example Sentences

这个电影把我吓坏了。
zhègè diànyǐng bǎ wǒ xiàhuài le 。
This movie scared me badly.
他吓唬小孩，让他们不敢玩。
tā xiàhu xiǎohái ， ràng tāmen bùgǎn wán 。
He frightened the children, making them afraid to play.
她的突然出现吓了我一跳。
tāde tūrán chūxiàn xiàle wǒ yītiào 。
Her sudden appearance startled me.

Same Characters, Different Readings

吓hè
to scare, to intimidate, to threaten

Words with similar meanings

恐吓kǒnghè
to intimidate
A more formal term often used in legal contexts for the act of making someone feel afraid.
惊吓jīngxià
to scare
Similar in meaning but can imply a lighter sense of fear, often used in less serious contexts.

Homophones

HSK 1
下xià
down, downwards, below, lower
HSK 3
夏xià
summer

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Public Lists with 吓

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HSK 5
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Vocabulary commonly seen in HSK5 practice, bridging mid-high level usage.