The character 惊 — “be startled”: how to write it and what it means
be startled, amazed
The Chinese character 惊 is read jīng and means “be startled, amazed”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 惊
惊 has 11 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 惊, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 惊 is made of
On the left, 忄 “heart”; on the right, 京 jīng hints at the sound.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 惊
- 吃惊be surprised, be amazedHSK 4
- 惊喜pleasant surprise; pleasantly surprisedHSK 5
- 惊讶surprised, astonishedHSK 6
- 惊人astonishing, staggeringHSK 6
- 大吃一惊be greatly surprised, be stunnedHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 惊?
惊 has 11 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 惊 mean?
惊 means “be startled, amazed”. It appears in 吃惊 (“be surprised”), 惊喜 (“pleasant surprise”), 惊讶 (“surprised”), 惊人 (“astonishing”).
How do you pronounce 惊?
惊 is read jīng. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 惊 have?
11 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 惊 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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