怕
Character Story & Explanation
怕 is widely used across modern Chinese media, education, and daily speech. It appears in HSK-3 textbooks, public safety announcements (e.g., 小心！怕滑 — Caution! Slippery!), and common idioms like 怕什么？(What’s there to fear?) — a reassuring phrase used by parents and teachers. A well-documented compound is 害怕 (hài pà), meaning 'to be terrified', listed in the 2010《现代汉语词典》(Contemporary Chinese Dictionary) as a standard term.
The character’s earliest attested form appears in clerical script (lìshū) during the Han dynasty (~206 BCE–220 CE), where it already combined 忄 (emotion) and 白 (phonetic). While 白 once meant 'white', its role here is primarily phonetic — no pictographic origin (e.g., no ancient 'scared face') is verified. Today, Chinese people commonly text 我怕… (I’m afraid…) before sharing bad news or uncertainties — a culturally soft way to express hesitation.
Hi students! Today we’re learning the character 怕 (pà), meaning 'to be afraid' or 'to fear'. It’s an essential emotion verb used daily in Chinese — from children saying 我怕黑 (I’m afraid of the dark) to adults expressing concern like 我怕迟到 (I’m afraid I’ll be late). Notice its left-side radical 忄 (the 'heart' or 'emotion' radical), which tells us this character relates to feelings — just like other emotion words such as 情 (qíng, feeling) and 思 (sī, to think).
It has only 8 strokes — simple but meaningful. The right side is 白 (bái), which originally meant 'white', but here serves mainly as a phonetic hint (though pronunciation has shifted over time). Don’t worry about memorizing ancient sound shifts — just remember that 怕 sounds like 'pà', rhymes with 'ma' (as in 'ma' in 'mama'), and always carries emotional weight.
This character appears early in learners’ studies because it’s practical, high-frequency, and pairs easily with many nouns and verbs. You’ll see it in questions (你怕吗？— Are you afraid?), negatives (我不怕 — I’m not afraid), and even humorously (他怕老婆 — He’s scared of his wife!). Mastering 怕 helps you express vulnerability, caution, and care — all vital for real conversations.
Example Sentences
Common Compounds
Similar Characters — Don't Mix These Up
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