ging1 haak3驚嚇惊吓
Jyutpingging1 haak3
Yalegīng haak
Definition
Scary, frightening, or terrifying.
colloquialdescriptionsemotion
How it's used
Focuses on the external stimulus that causes a sudden feeling of fear or shock, rather than the internal state of being afraid. It is frequently used to describe horror movies, jump scares, or unexpected, alarming events. Unlike 驚, which describes the internal feeling of fear, 驚嚇 emphasizes the frightening quality of the object or situation itself.
Examples
That ghost story was so scary, I couldn't sleep all night after hearing it.
Why did you jump out suddenly? That was really shocking!
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often confuse this with 驚. Remember that 驚 is a verb or adjective describing your own fear, whereas 驚嚇 is an adjective describing something that causes fear in others.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
