18 Ways to Say Really in Chinese | Express Surprise in Chinese

HOW TO SAY REALLY IN CHINESE – EXPRESS SURPRISE IN CHINESE

How to say really in Chinese? When things happen that you didn’t expect , how do you express surprise? There are so many different Chinese expressions for surprise and they are extremely useful in different situations. Next time you wonder how to sound surprised in Chinese, try one of these following expressions!

LESSON NOTES

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How to Say Surprise in Chinese

1. 惊喜

pinyin. jīngxǐ literal. surprise liberal. surprise
Well the first thing we need to know on how to express surprise in Chinese, is the word surprise itself. 惊喜 is the word we’re looking for. You can say 好惊喜啊 hǎo jīng xǐ ‘a, meaning “it’s such a surprise“.

 

How to Say Really in Chinese

2. 真的吗

pinyin. zhēn de ma literal. really liberal. really
In Chinese, 真的 means real, and 吗 is a question particle used to ask a yes/no question, so 真的吗 turns real into a question, meaning really? It is the standard way of how to say really in Chinese.

3. 真的假的

pinyin. zhēn de jiǎ de literal. real (or) fake liberal. really
In Chinese, 假的 means fake or not real, so by saying 真的假的, you’re literally asking is this for real or not?

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How to Express Surprise in Chinese　

4. 太奇怪了

pinyin. tài qí guài le literal. too strange liberal. it’s so strange; it’s so weird
If you want to know how to express surprise in Chinese in different ways, 太奇怪了 is a useful expression, meaning it’s so strange.

5. 太夸张了

pinyin. tài kuā zhāng le literal. too exaggerated liberal.it’s so crazy
不夸张了 is another example of the structure 太 + (adj) +了, meaning so + (adj.). 夸张 means exaggerated, but in Chinese, we can use it to describe something that is surprising or unbelievable.

6. 啊

pinyin. á literal. huh? liberal. huh?
One of the easiest and most common Chinese expressions of surprise is just one simple character 啊, but when you say it, don’t forget to emphasize it with a surprised second tone, and say it like á.

 

How to Say Oh My God to Express Surprise in Chinese

7. 天呐; 天哪

pinyin. tiān na literal. Heaven liberal. God
Saying “God!” is also one of the common Chinese expressions of surprise. God is translated as 神 shén, but when Chinese people get surprised, they will say 天呐(=天哪) instead of 神呐. That’s because 天, which literally means the sky or the heaven, is a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and religion, which represents “the law of the universe”, or God.

8. 我的天啊

pinyin. wǒ de tiān na literal. my Heaven liberal. oh my God
我的天啊 means oh my God. It is less common than the two character word 天哪, but is still a common way to express surprise in Chinese.

 

How to Sound Surprised in Chinese by Saying I Didn’t Expect It

9. 真没想到啊

pinyin. zhēn méi xiǎng dào ‘a literal. (I) haven’t thought liberal. I didn’t expect it
When you want to say “I didn’t expect it” to sound surprised in Chinese, 真没想到啊 is the standard translation.

10. 怎么会这样儿

pinyin. zěn me huì zhè yàngr literal. how could (it be like) this liberal. how could it be like this
If you want to say “how come?” and express surprise, you can say 怎么会这样儿. Also you can drop the “儿” and just say 怎么会这样 zěn me huì zhè yàng.

11. 怎么回事儿

pinyin. zěn me huí shìr literal. how (are) things (like this) liberal. what happened
怎么回事儿 is similar as 怎么会这样儿. It can be translated as what happened or how come. Since it’s shorter than 怎么会这样儿, it is also an easier expression.

 

One of the Common Chinese Expressions of Surprise – I Don’t Believe It

12. 我不信

pinyin. wǒ bú xìn literal. I don’t believe (it) liberal. I don’t believe it
我不信 is the standard translation of I don’t believe it, but sometimes you might want to sound more round-about. That’s why we picked more Chinese expressions of surprise for you, and they are as follows.

13. 不会吧

pinyin. bú huì ba literal. (it) could not (be like this) liberal.no way
不会吧 is a rhetorical question, as if you are saying “how could it be” or “how come“, suggesting that you don’t really believe it.

14. 不可能

pinyin. bù kě néng literal. no possibility liberal. there’s no way
不可能 sound stronger than 不会吧, meaning it is impossible or there’s no way, but it could sound impolite sometimes.

15. 怎么可能

pinyin. zěn me kě néng literal. how (could it be) possible liberal. how could it be
怎么可能 is similar to 不可能, meaning that you don’t think it’s possible.

16. 你开玩笑的吧

pinyin. nǐ kāi wán xiào de ba literal. you are joking (right) liberal. are you joking
开玩笑 means to make jokes in Chinese. 你开玩笑的吧 is the best way to say are you joking or are you kidding in Chinese.

17. 你骗谁呢

pinyin. nǐ literal. who are you trying to fool liberal. who are you trying to fool
骗 piàn means to deceive or to lie about something to fool people. 你骗谁呢 is also a rhetorical question, suggesting that you think the person is trying to fool you. Also you can say 你骗我的吧 nǐ piàn wǒ de ba, meaning I think you’re trying to fool me.

 

How to Sound Surprised in Chinese by Using A Chengyu

18. 太不可思议了

pinyin. tài bù kě sī yì le literal. surprise liberal. it’s so unbelievable
Do you know that there are some 成语 chéng yǔ Chinese Idioms to express surprise in Chinese? 不可思议 bù kě sī yì is a common one, meaning inconceivable or unbelievable. So when you want to sound really surprised, you can say 太不可思议了!