震 (zhèn): to shake, to shock
震 (zhèn) is a Chinese character meaning “to shake, to shock.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 雨 (semantic) and 辰 (phonetic). It ranks #1103 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 震 rain. Its radical form 雨 (rain) appears in many related characters such as 雨 (yǔ, rain), 零 (líng, zero), 雪 (xuě, snow).
Definitions
- to shake, to shock
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 震 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 震
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 震惊verb | zhèn jīng | to shock |
| 震撼verb | zhèn hàn | to shake |
| 震动verb | zhèn dòng | to shake |
| 脑震荡noun | nǎo zhèn dàng | (med.) cerebral concussion |
| 震荡verb | zhèn dàng | to shake up |
| 震慑verb | zhèn shè | to awe |
| 余震noun | yú zhèn | earthquake aftershock |
| 震怒verb | zhèn nù | to be furious |
| 震颤verb | zhèn chàn | to tremble |
| 震耳欲聋phrase | zhèn ěr yù lóng | ear-splitting (idiom) |
| 防震 | fáng zhèn | shockproof |
| 震中noun | zhèn zhōng | earthquake epicenter |
| 震级noun | zhèn jí | degree of earthquake (on magnitude scale) |
| 地震学noun | dì zhèn xué | seismology |
| 地震波noun | dì zhèn bō | seismic wave |
震 appears in 93 compound words: 46 as the first character, 27 as the last, and 27 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 震 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
surpassing the ancients and amazing the contemporaries; earthshaking; splendid
Example Sentences
地震发生时，要迅速躲到桌子下面。
Dìzhèn fāshēng shí, yào xùnsù duǒ dào zhuōzi xiàmiàn.
When an earthquake occurs, quickly hide under the table.
东南亚加里曼丹岛附近发生7级地震
dōng nán yà jiā lǐ 曼 dān dǎo fù jìn fā shēng 7 jí dì zhèn
A magnitude 7 earthquake occurred near the island of Kalimantan in Southeast Asia
凌晨2:34 新北坪林区规模4.0地震 最大震度汐止2级
líng chén 2 : 3 4 xīn běi píng lín qū guī mó 4 . 0 dì zhèn zuì dà zhèn dù 汐 zhǐ 2 jí
At 2:34 a.m., a magnitude 4.0 earthquake occurred in Pinglin District, New Taipei, with a maximum seismic intensity of Xizhi 2
马来西亚附近海域发生7.1级地震
mǎ lái xī yà fù jìn hǎi yù fā shēng 7 . 1 jí dì zhèn
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the waters off Malaysia
一场极致的气温震荡即将登场!气温猛冲到“四月春”后..
yī chǎng jí zhì de qì wēn zhèn dàng jí jiāng dēng chǎng ! qì wēn měng chōng dào sì yuè chūn hòu . .
An extreme temperature shock is on the way! Temperatures jumped to "April Spring" after...
谁被虹口新春美到了?中外游客:超出片,太震撼!| ..
shéi bèi hóng kǒu xīn chūn měi dào le ? zhōng wài yóu kè chāo chū piān , tài zhèn hàn ! . .
Who is beautiful by Hongkou New Year? Chinese and foreign tourists: beyond the film, too shocking! | The New Year's Day
建筑物在地震中摇晃。
Jiànzhùwù zài dìzhèn zhōng yáohuàng.
The buildings shook in the earthquake.
仙台地震的结果很恐怖。
Xiāntái dìzhèn de jiéguǒ hěn kǒngbù.
The consequences of Sendai's earthquake were dreadful!
汤姆感觉手机震荡了。
Tāng mǔ gǎnjué shǒujī zhèndàng le.
Tom felt his phone vibrate.
台湾容易发生地震。
Táiwān róngyì fāshēng dìzhèn.
Taiwan is prone to earthquakes.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 雨 (rain) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 震 (zhèn) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 震 and 晨?
How many strokes does 震 have?
What is the radical of 震?
What are the components of 震?
What are common words containing 震?
What characters sound the same as 震 (zhèn)?
Is 震 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 震 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.