Expressing concern with "kongpa"

恐怕 (kǒngpà) can be used to express "I'm afraid that," or "I'm concerned that," or even "I'm worried that," followed by some sort of reason. It doesn't need to be something you're literally afraid of; it may be that you're just trying to soften the blow of some bad news, as in, "I'm afraid that I'm too busy washing my hair tomorrow night to come over and see the 2000 pictures of your trip to ComicCon."

Structure

恐怕 comes at the beginning of the sentence. The meaning is similar to "perhaps" or "probably." It's often used with auxiliary verbs, such as 要, 会, 能, 得, etc.

(Reason,) 恐怕 ⋯⋯

Examples

• 今天 恐怕 要 下雨 。Jīntiān kǒngpà yào xià yǔ.I'm afraid it's going to rain today.
• 这 是 很重要 的 决定 ，你 恐怕 不 能 这么 着急 。Zhè shì hěn zhòngyào de juédìng, nǐ kǒngpà bù néng zhème zhāojí.I'm afraid you can't rush this decision as it is a big one to make.
• 老婆 ，我 晚上 要 加班 ，恐怕 不 能 回家 吃 晚饭 了 。Lǎopó, wǒ wǎnshàng yào jiābān, kǒngpà bù néng huí jiā chī wǎnfànle.Wife, I'm going to work late tonight. I'm afraid I can't go home to eat dinner.
• 这个 颜色 太 粉 了 ，恐怕 我女儿 不 喜欢 。Zhège yánsè tài fěnle, kǒngpà wǒ nǚ'ér bù xǐhuān.This pink is too much. I'm afraid my daughter isn't going to like it.
• 这件事 恐怕 得 你 帮忙 。Zhè jiàn shì kǒngpà dé nǐ bāngmáng.I'm afraid you have to help me with this.
• 你 现在 知道 被 骗 了 ？恐怕 骗子 早就 跑了 。Nǐ xiànzài zhīdào bèi piànle? Kǒngpà piànzi zǎo jiù pǎole.You finally realized the fact that you were ripped off? I'm afraid that guy was long gone.
• 这样做 恐怕 不太 合适 。Zhèyàng zuò kǒngpà bù tài héshì.I'm afraid it wasn't appropriate to do it this way.

"恐怕" is also often used in conjunction with "吧". When it is used with "吧", it expresses a soft but concerned tone and is typically used when the speaker wishes to give their advice or opinion on a matter. "恐怕"也经常和"吧"连用，表示一种委婉、商量、劝告的语气，而说话人有自己的想法。

• 恐怕 没 那么 容易 吧 。Kǒngpà méi nàme róngyì ba.I'm afraid it's not that easy.
• 一个人 去 那个 地方 恐怕 不太 安全 吧 。Yīgè rén qù nàgè dìfāng kǒngpà bù tài ānquán ba.I'm afraid it's not safe to go there alone.
• 你 这样 说 ，恐怕 她 会 不 高兴 吧 。Nǐ zhèyàng shuō, kǒngpà tā huì bù gāoxìng ba.I'm afraid she will be upset about the way you talk.

我 with 恐怕

A common mistake many people make when learning 恐怕 is putting a pronoun, such as 我, before 恐怕. It's a reasonable assumption, as 恐怕 translates to, "I'm afraid" but the pronoun is more or less implied and grammatically incorrect when preceded by 我:

• 我 恐怕 帮不了 你 。Never put 我 before 恐怕!
• 恐怕 我 帮不了 你 。I'm afraid I can't help you.

See also

• "Would like to" with xiang
• Wanting to do something with yao
• Auxiliary verb
• Auxiliary verb "hui" for "will"

Sources and further reading

Videos

• Yoyo Chinese: "Have to and Don't have to"

Books

• HSK Standard Course 4下 (pp. 76) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 164-5) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课下册） (pp. 301) [ →buy]

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