JLPT N4 · Verb

驚く (odoroku)

驚く (おどろく, odoroku) is a Japanese verb meaning “to be surprised; to be taken aback”. It appears in JLPT N4 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.

Reading: おどろく
Romaji: odoroku
Word class: Godan verb (う-verb) ending in く
Level: JLPT N4 (unofficial)

Meaning

to be surprised; to be taken aback; to be amazed; to be astonished; to be shocked · godan verb, intransitive
to be frightened; to be startled; to be alarmed · godan verb, intransitive

Example sentences

知事は委員会の反応に驚いた。

The governor was surprised by the commission's response.

Tatoeba #127060

町の人々は地震に大変驚いた。

The townsfolk were frightened by the earthquake.

Tatoeba #126124

Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.

Conjugation of 驚く

Godan verb (う-verb) ending in く. Plain and polite forms below; try any other word in the Japanese verb conjugator.

Form	Japanese	Reading
Dictionary	驚く	おどろく odoroku
Polite (~masu)	驚きます	おどろきます odorokimasu
Negative	驚かない	おどろかない odorokanai
Polite negative	驚きません	おどろきません odorokimasen
Past	驚いた	おどろいた odoroita
Polite past	驚きました	おどろきました odorokimashita
Negative past	驚かなかった	おどろかなかった odorokanakatta
Te-form	驚いて	おどろいて odoroite
Potential	驚ける	おどろける odorokeru
Passive	驚かれる	おどろかれる odorokareru
Causative	驚かせる	おどろかせる odorokaseru
Volitional	驚こう	おどろこう odorokou
Imperative	驚け	おどろけ odoroke
Conditional (~ba)	驚けば	おどろけば odorokeba

Kanji in 驚く

驚

wonder, be surprised, frightenedキョウ・おどろ.く・おどろ.かす · 22 strokes

Related words

Other vocabulary sharing a kanji with 驚く.

驚きおどろきsurprise驚かすおどろかすto surprise驚異きょういwonder

Source: JMdict entry 1238680 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.