怕 meaning in English

pà

to be afraid; to fear

HSK 2verbadverb8 strokes

Meaning of 怕

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

pà

to be afraid
to fear
to dread
to be unable to endure
perhaps

Pà

surname Pa

How to use 怕

怕 is a common verb meaning "to be afraid of" and it can take a noun or a verb directly after it. It can also mean "to be unable to stand" something, as in 怕冷 (pà lěng, can't stand the cold). Example: 我怕狗。(Wǒ pà gǒu.) I'm afraid of dogs.

怕 (pà) has the heart radical 忄 on the left and 白 (bái, white) on the right. Picture a heart so frightened that the face turns white, and you have "to fear."

Common mistake: Learners sometimes mix up 怕 (pà) with 拍 (pāi, to clap or pat), which has the hand radical 扌 instead of the heart radical 忄. Remember that fear comes from the heart, and clapping uses the hand.

怕 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

这zhè种zhǒng事shì我wǒ一yì点diǎn也yě不bù怕pà。

I'm not in the least afraid of it.

我wǒ怕pà你nǐ没méi法fǎ跟gēn她tā结jié婚hūn。

I'm afraid you can't marry her.

说shuō英yīng语yǔ的de时shí候hòu不bú要yào怕pà犯fàn错cuò。

Don't be afraid to make mistakes when speaking English.

你nǐ为wèi什shén么me这zhè么me害hài怕pà？

Why were you so scared?

我wǒ怕pà它tā是shì行xíng不bù通tōng的de。

I'm afraid it won't work.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

怕 pà · to be afraid · 8 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 怕.

可怕	kěpà	awful; dreadful
害怕	hàipà	to be afraid; to be scared
恐怕	kǒngpà	fear; to dread
哪怕	nǎpà	even; even if
生怕	shēngpà	to fear; afraid
不怕	bùpà	fearless; not worried (by setbacks or difficulties)
惧怕	jùpà	to be afraid
怕死	pàsǐ	to be scared of dying
只怕	zhǐpà	I'm afraid that...; perhaps
担惊受怕	dānjīngshòupà	(idiom) apprehensive; alarmed; anxious

Questions about 怕

What does 怕 mean?

怕 (pà) means "to be afraid; to fear" and is used as a verb and adverb.

How do you write 怕?

怕 is made of 1 character: 怕 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.

Is 怕 an HSK word?

Yes. 怕 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 怕 and 害怕?

Both mean "to be afraid." 害怕 (hàipà) can stand alone as in 我很害怕 (I'm very scared), while 怕 more often takes an object, as in 怕黑 (afraid of the dark). In casual speech 怕 is short and very common.

How can 怕 mean "perhaps"?

In expressions like 怕是 or 恐怕 (kǒngpà), 怕 softens a guess, often about something unwelcome. For example, 恐怕他不来了 (Kǒngpà tā bù lái le) means "I'm afraid he isn't coming."