a blow; a shock
Almost always used in the idiom 一泡吹かせる (ひとあわふかせる), meaning to give someone a shock or a scare, or to startle them. Rarely used independently.
His sudden resignation gave the company a shock.
We're thinking of a plan to give our rivals a scare.
Standard kanji spelling.
Mixed kanji-kana spelling, also used.
Used chiefly in 一泡吹かせる, literally “to make someone blow foam,” evoking a person foaming or gasping from distress and hence suffering a shock or defeat.