驚かす

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: In 驚かす (おどろかす), surprise stem 驚 with okurigana かす forms the transitive verb to startle.
• Basic usage: 驚かす is transitive and means causing another person or animal to be surprised.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Transitive causing of surprise
  • It differs from intransitive 驚く. The past of 驚かす is 驚かした, while the example’s 驚かせた is the past causative of 驚く.