怖 meaning and stroke order
Frightened, terrified
How to write 怖, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 8
Meaning of 怖
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- terror
- terrified
- afraid
- frightened
How 怖 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Heart.
忄 gives the meaning and 布 hints at the sound.
Radical: 忄 (heart), shared by 167 characters on this site.
How to remember 怖
怖 is a pictophonetic character: the heart radical 忄 shows it is a feeling, and 布 (bù) gives the sound. Picture a heart hiding under a cloth 布 because it is scared.
怖 almost never appears alone in modern Chinese. It lives mainly in the word 恐怖 (kǒngbù), meaning scary or terror, which also builds words like 恐怖片 (kǒngbùpiàn, horror movie) and 恐怖分子 (kǒngbùfènzǐ, terrorist). Example: 这部电影太恐怖了。(Zhè bù diànyǐng tài kǒngbù le.) This movie is really scary.
Common mistake: Learners often write 布 without the heart radical, or swap in 佈, which uses the person radical 亻 instead of 忄. Also note that 怖 keeps the fourth tone like 布, so say kǒngbù, not kǒngbǔ.
Common words with 怖
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
怖 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 怖
How many strokes are in 怖?
怖 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 怖 mean?
怖 (bù) means frightened, terrified. A common word with it is 恐怖 (kǒngbù), meaning "terrible; frightful".
How do you pronounce 怖?
怖 is pronounced bù, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 怖?
The radical of 怖 is 忄, which carries the idea of "heart". Dictionaries list 怖 under this radical.
Is 怖 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 怖 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 恐怖 and 可怕?
Both can mean scary. 可怕 (kěpà) is everyday and mild, while 恐怖 (kǒngbù) sounds stronger and is the standard word for horror and terrorism.
Can I use 怖 by itself to say I am scared?
No. To say you are scared, use 怕 (pà) or 害怕 (hàipà), as in 我很害怕 (wǒ hěn hàipà). 怖 is used inside set words like 恐怖.