发抖

• Pinyin: fā dǒu
• Hanzi breakdown: 发 = 弓 + 殳 — to emit, produce; 抖 = 扌(hand radical) + 斗 (to struggle, fight) — hands struggling/shaking involuntarily

Meaning

To tremble; to shiver; to shake. An involuntary physical trembling caused by cold, fear, illness, or intense emotion.

Common in descriptive narration and literary prose. Often collocates with cause: 冷得发抖 (trembling with cold), 吓得发抖 (shaking with fright), 气得发抖 (trembling with anger). Slightly more vivid and physical than 颤抖.

Examples

1. 目睹那场突如其来的事故后，她的双手一直在不受控制地发抖，久久无法平静。 After witnessing the sudden accident, her hands kept trembling uncontrollably, and she couldn’t calm down for a long time.
2. 深冬的山顶，风雪交加，几位登山者冷得发抖，只能相互依靠着等待救援队伍的到来。 On the mountaintop in midwinter, with wind and snow raging, several climbers were shivering with cold and could only lean on each other while waiting for the rescue team to arrive.
3. 听到法庭宣判的那一刻，被告双腿发抖，几乎站立不稳，需要旁边的律师扶住才能保持平衡。 The moment the court delivered its verdict, the defendant’s legs were shaking and he could barely stand, needing the lawyer beside him to support him to keep his balance.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, literary, emotional, medical

Tone: vivid

Do Say

• 那名幸存者在讲述灾难经历时声音颤抖、双手发抖，现场所有的采访人员都被他的陈述深深震撼，整个采访室陷入了短暂的沉默。(As the survivor recounted his experience of the disaster, his voice quivered and his hands trembled; every interviewer present was deeply moved by his account, and the entire interview room fell into a brief silence.)
• 马拉松选手冲线后双腿发抖，医护人员立刻上前搀扶。(After crossing the finish line, the marathon runner's legs trembled and medics immediately supported him.)

Don't Say

• 他发抖了他的手 — 发抖 is an intransitive verb and cannot take a direct object; say 他的手在发抖 or 他吓得浑身发抖 to describe the specific trembling correctly

Origin & History

发 (to give rise to/emit) + 抖 (to shake/tremble) — to emit or produce a shaking motion

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal