怔住

zhèngzhù

verb #49,974

Meanings

1 to be stunned
2 to be dumbfounded
3 to freeze (in surprise)

Characters

stunned; staring blankly

(resultative) to stop; to fix in place

Examples

HSK 3

她怔住了，半天说不出话。

Tā zhèngzhù le, bàntiān shuō bu chū huà.

She froze, unable to speak for a long while.

HSK 4

听到这个消息，他一下子怔住了。

Tīngdào zhège xiāoxi, tā yíxiàzi zhèngzhù le.

Hearing the news, he was momentarily stunned.

Tips

grammar

住 here is a resultative complement meaning 'fixed in place / held'. Compare 愣住 (lèngzhù, dazed-stuck, near-synonym) and 站住 (zhànzhù, halt). The -住 anchors the surprise: not just startled, but frozen by it.

Stroke Order

怔 zhèng

住 zhù