びっくり仰ぎょう天てん

also: きっきょうぎょうてん

び

っ

く

り

ぎょ

う

て

ん

Meanings

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru'

astonished; stunned; thunderstruck

Emphatic expression for extreme surprise or shock, stronger than びっくり alone. Often used in the phrase びっくり仰天する.

その知しらせを聞きいてびっくり仰ぎょう天てんした。
I was absolutely stunned when I heard the news.
彼かの女じょの突とつ然ぜんの告こく白はくに、みんなびっくり仰ぎょう天てんだった。
Everyone was thunderstruck by her sudden confession.

Written forms

びっくり仰ぎょう天てん
Standard mixed kana-kanji spelling; the most common written form.
吃驚仰天
- びっくりぎょうてん
  Full kanji spelling; rarely used and may be read as きっきょうぎょうてん by some.
- きっきょうぎょうてん
  Alternate reading of the full kanji form; very rare and literary.
きっきょうぎょうてん

Kanji

仰face-up, look up, depend
天heavens, sky, imperial
吃stammer
驚wonder, be surprised, frightened

Similar words

びっくり
びっくり is a common word for 'surprised'; びっくり仰天 is a more intense, emphatic version.
仰ぎょう天てん
仰天 alone also means 'astonished', but びっくり仰天 is a fixed compound that intensifies the meaning.

Etymology

Compound of びっくり (surprise) and 仰天 (astonishment). The exact origin of びっくり is uncertain, possibly mimetic. 仰天 literally means 'look up to heaven', implying being so shocked one looks upward.