愣住

lèngzhù
verb #33,444

Meanings

  1. 1 to be stunned
  2. 2 to be dumbfounded
  3. 3 to freeze in surprise

Examples

Tīngdào zhège xiāoxi, tā yíxiàzi lèngzhù le.
On hearing the news, he was instantly stunned.
Tā kànjiàn qián nányǒu zǒujìn lái, lèngzhù le hǎojǐ miǎo.
Seeing her ex-boyfriend walk in, she froze for several seconds.

Tips

usage
(lèng) by itself = 'dazed/in a stupor'; the resultative - (zhù, 'to hold/stick') makes it 'frozen in place by shock'. Compare (dāizhù, 'stupefied') which is similar but emphasizes blank-mindedness; 愣住 emphasizes the sudden mid-action freeze.

Stroke Order

lèng
zhù