Meaning
to be afraid; to fear
Chinese: 害怕、担心。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “pa” becomes a different word in each tone. 怕 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 可怕kě pàawful; dreadful; fearful; formidable
- 害怕hài pàto be afraid; to be scared
- 恐怕kǒng pàfear; to dread; I'm afraid that...; perhaps
- 哪怕nǎ pàeven; even if; even though; no matter how
- 生怕shēng pàto fear; afraid; extremely nervous; for fear that
Example Sentence
妹妹有点儿怕黑。Mèi mei yǒu diǎnr pà hēi.My younger sister is a little afraid of the dark.
妹妹mèi meiyounger sister有点儿yǒu diǎn rslightly怕pàto be afraid黑hēiblack。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
The heart radical 忄 beside 白, which gives the sound: a heart gone pale with fear. It means ‘to fear / be afraid’.
A way to remember it
A heart turned pale (白) — afraid.
Easy to confuse with
- 白‘White’: the sound part of 怕, without the heart radical beside it.