verb HSK 2
to be afraid of · to fear · to worry that
Meaning
怕 is a common verb expressing fear, worry, or concern about something. It can indicate being scared of a person, object, or situation, or anxiety that something undesirable might happen. It's one of the most fundamental emotion verbs in Mandarin.
Usage
怕 is used in everyday conversation at all registers. It commonly appears in the pattern '怕 + noun' (to fear something) or '怕 + clause' (to worry that...). Native speakers often use 不怕 (not afraid) to express courage or reassurance. It can also soften statements when expressing concerns politely.
Examples
- 01我不怕黑。.I'm not afraid of the dark.
- 02他怕你生气，所以没告诉你。, .He was afraid you'd get angry, so he didn't tell you.
Common collocations
- 不怕not afraid of
- 怕死afraid of death, cowardly
- 怕冷sensitive to cold, fear the cold
- 我怕......I'm afraid that...
Antonyms
Origin
The character 怕 combines the heart radical 忄(心) on the left, indicating emotion, with 白 (bái, white) on the right as the phonetic component. The heart radical shows this is an emotional state.