吓人

• Pinyin: xià rén
• Hanzi breakdown: 吓 = 口 + 下 (mouth + below — a cry that makes one shrink); 人 = person

Meaning

Frightening; scary; alarming. Describes something that causes fear or shock, either through genuine danger or through a startling appearance or sound.

Versatile in register — can describe a horror film, an alarmingly high price, extreme weather, or a terrifying exam. Often used colloquially to express that something is overwhelming or astonishing, not necessarily in a literal sense of physical danger. Closer to 'alarming' or 'jaw-dropping' in many contexts.

Examples

1. 这部恐怖片里的特效制作得极为逼真，每一个转场都吓人得令观众不敢眨眼。 The special effects in this horror movie are incredibly realistic—every transition is so scary the audience hardly dares to blink.
2. 本季度的运营亏损数字公布之后，董事会成员们面面相觑，那个数字实在太吓人了。 After this quarter’s operating loss figures were released, board members exchanged uneasy looks—the number was truly alarming.
3. 山间的暴风雪来得突然，强风和雷鸣声交替响起，景象之吓人让初次进山的游客瑟瑟发抖。 A sudden blizzard swept through the mountains; with fierce winds and booming thunder alternating, the scene was terrifying enough to make first-time visitors tremble.

Usage Guide

Context: daily life, media, finance, weather

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 那栋废弃工厂的外观破败不堪，夜晚在路灯昏黄的映照下显得格外吓人，周边居民早就呼吁市政部门尽快对其进行拆除或改造处理。(The dilapidated exterior of that abandoned factory looks particularly frightening at night under the dim yellow glow of streetlamps, and nearby residents have long been calling on the municipal authorities to demolish or renovate it as soon as possible.)
• 题目的计算量乍看很吓人，但只要思路正确，把它拆成几个独立子问题逐步处理，其实并没有表面上那么复杂。(The amount of calculation in this problem looks daunting at first, but if the approach is correct and it is broken into a few independent subproblems, it is not as complex as it seems.)

Don't Say

• 吓人 in formal academic or professional writing — use 令人震惊 or 骇人听闻 for written registers; 吓人 is suitable for spoken and informal written contexts

Origin & History

吓 (to frighten) + 人 (person) — literally 'frightening to people'

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal