DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

拍案驚奇

简拍案惊奇 · 繁拍案驚奇

Mandarin · pinyin pāi àn jīng qí

to slap the table in amazement (idiom); wonderful!
amazing!

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Characters in this entry

拍: pāi · clap, tap, beat; beat or rhythm
案: àn · table, bench; legal case
驚: Look up this written character
奇: qí · strange, unusual, uncanny, occult
惊: jīng · frighten, surprise, startle

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–4–1–2 · pai1 an4 jing1 qi2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

拍案驚奇 · find source passages ↗ · 拍案惊奇 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(figurative) to be surprised by the excellence (of something)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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