---
title: "Jingtan Meaning: 惊叹 (jīngtàn) Means “to exclaim in admiration”"
description: "惊叹 (traditional 驚歎, jīngtàn) means “to exclaim in admiration; to marvel at”. Hear its tones, see what 惊 and 叹 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jingtan"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 惊叹 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

惊叹 jīngtàn

## to exclaim in admiration; to marvel at

## Its characters

1. 惊 jīng to startle
2. 叹 tàn to exclaim in admiration (as in 赞叹, 惊叹)

## In a sentence

游客们都惊叹于这里的美景。 The tourists all marveled at the beautiful scenery here.

更令人**惊叹**的是他的晚年：一百岁以后，他还出版了十多本书。

From [拼音是谁发明的？ · Who invented pinyin? The story of Zhou Youguang](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/who-invented-pinyin-zhou-youguang#library-word-561-563)

[More about 惊叹](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E6%83%8A%E5%8F%B9)

## More words with 惊 or 叹

- [感叹 gǎntàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/gantan)
- [惊人 jīngrén](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jingren)
- [惊喜 jīngxǐ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jingxi)
- [惊讶 jīngyà](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/jingya)
- [震惊 zhènjīng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/zhenjing)

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