びっくり

Japanese

Alternative forms

Etymology

Derivation from the びく (biku) root found in other terms such as びくっと (bikutto, “startedly”), びくつく (bikutsuku, “to shiver, as from fright; to startle; to become nervous”). The underlying meaning of the root appears to be twitch or start (noun).[1]

This is one of many adverbs formed by the addition of the suffix り (ri) to the root, and then gemination of the middle consonant. The suffix may derive from the auxiliary verb り (ri), itself from classical verb あり (ari, “is, are”).

*biku → bikuri → bikkuri

The kanji spellings for this term are very rare. The kana spellings びっくり or ビックリ are much more common.

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) びっく​り [bìkkúꜜrì] (Nakadaka – [3])[2]
  • IPA(key): [bʲik̚kɯ̟ᵝɾʲi]

Adverb

びっくり (katakana ビックリ, rōmaji bikkuri)

  1. startledly, surprisedly, astonishedly
→
  • びくびく (bikubiku)
  • びくっと (bikutto)
  • びくつく (bikutsuku)
  • びくしゃく (bikushaku)
  • びくとも (bikutomo)

Verb

びっくりする (suru conjugation, katakana ビックリする, rōmaji bikkuri suru)

  1. to be surprised, to be startled, to be frightened, to be astonished
    びっくりした？
    Bikkuri shita?
    Were you surprised?
    あー、びっくりした。
    Ā, bikkuri shita.
    Oh man, that surprised me.

Conjugation
Conjugation of "びっくりする" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) びっくりし bikkuri shi
Continuative (連用形) びっくりし bikkuri shi
Terminal (終止形) びっくりする bikkuri suru
Attributive (連体形) びっくりする bikkuri suru
Hypothetical (仮定形) びっくりすれ bikkuri sure
Imperative (命令形) びっくりせよ¹
びっくりしろ²		 bikkuri seyo¹
bikkuri shiro²
Key constructions
Passive びっくりされる bikkuri sareru
Causative びっくりさせる
びっくりさす		 bikkuri saseru
bikkuri sasu
Potential びっくりできる bikkuri dekiru
Volitional びっくりしよう bikkuri shiyō
Negative びっくりしない bikkuri shinai
Negative continuative びっくりせず bikkuri sezu
Formal びっくりします bikkuri shimasu
Perfective びっくりした bikkuri shita
Conjunctive びっくりして bikkuri shite
Hypothetical conditional びっくりすれば bikkuri sureba
¹ Written imperative

² Spoken imperative

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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