虚惊

虛驚

xūjīng

noun #24,700

Meanings

1 false alarm
2 unfounded scare
3 needless fright

Characters

empty; false; imaginary

fright; to startle

Examples

还好只是虚惊一场，孩子平安无事。

Hái hǎo zhǐ shì xūjīng yī chǎng, háizi píng'ān wúshì.

Fortunately it was just a false alarm — the child is safe and sound.

误报火警，让大家虚惊了一场。

Wùbào huǒjǐng, ràng dàjiā xūjīng le yī chǎng.

A false fire alarm gave everyone a needless scare.

Tips

usage

虚惊 almost always appears in the set phrase 虚惊一场, meaning a scare that turned out to be nothing. The phrase 一场 (one bout/episode) functions as a measure for the event.

Stroke Order

虚 xū

惊 jīng