惊世骇俗

驚世駭俗

jīngshì-hàisú

idiom #28,548

Meanings

1 to shock the world and astonish conventional society
2 scandalously unconventional
3 to offend public sensibilities

Characters

to shock; to startle; to alarm

world; age; generation

to terrify; to startle; to astonish

customs; popular; vulgar; conventional

Examples

HSK 3

这个决定在当时被认为是惊世骇俗的。

Zhège juédìng zài dāngshí bèi rènwéi shì jīngshì-hàisú de.

This decision was considered scandalously unconventional at the time.

HSK 7-9

他的艺术作品以惊世骇俗著称。

Tā de yìshù zuòpǐn yǐ jīngshì-hàisú zhùchēng.

His artworks are renowned for their shocking, convention-defying nature.

Tips

memory

惊 (shock) + 世 (world/age) + 骇 (terrify/startle) + 俗 (social customs): so shocking it terrifies the whole world's customs. A four-character explosion of controversy.

Stroke Order

惊 jīng

世 shì

骇 hài

俗 sú