恐怕

• Pinyin: kǒng pà
• Hanzi breakdown: 恐 = 巩 (strengthen, phonetic) + 心 (heart), meaning to fear; 怕 = 忄(heart) + 白 (white), meaning to be scared (heart turning white)

Meaning

I'm afraid that; probably; perhaps. Used to express a worried guess or a polite way of delivering unwelcome news.

An adverb used to soften an unpleasant statement or to express an uncertain but likely negative outcome. It does not mean 'to be afraid' in the emotional sense — that would be 害怕. 恐怕 is closer to 'I'm afraid that...' in English, used for politeness or to express concern about a likely outcome.

Examples

1. 恐怕明天的会议要取消了。 I'm afraid tomorrow's meeting will be cancelled.
2. 这个问题恐怕不太容易解决。 This problem is probably not easy to solve.
3. 恐怕我们来不及了。 I'm afraid we won't make it in time.

Usage Guide

Context: hedging, concern, politeness

Tone: cautious

Do Say

• 恐怕他不会来了。(I'm afraid he won't come.)
• 这件事恐怕有点儿麻烦。(I'm afraid this matter is a bit troublesome.)

Don't Say

• 我很恐怕蛇。(Don't use 恐怕 as an adjective for being scared — use 害怕. Say 我很害怕蛇.)

Origin & History

Compound of 恐 (to fear) and 怕 (to be afraid). While both characters relate to fear, as a fixed adverb 恐怕 has grammaticalised into a hedging expression meaning 'I'm afraid that' or 'it is feared that.'

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal