Expressing concern with "kongpa"

Level

B2 / HSK4
Level

B2
Level

HSK4
Similar to
Similar to
Used for

Expressing concern
Keywords

恐怕

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. 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.
这件事恐怕得你帮忙。Zhè jiàn shì kǒngpà děi nǐ bāngmáng.I'm afraid we're going to need your help with this matter.
这样做恐怕不太合适。Zhèyàng zuò kǒngpà bù tài héshì.I'm afraid it's not appropriate to do this.
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.This is an important decision. I'm afraid you can't rush this one.
老婆，我晚上要加班，恐怕不能回家吃晚饭了。Lǎopo, wǒ wǎnshàng yào jiābān, kǒngpà bù néng huíjiā chī wǎnfàn le.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 fěn le, kǒngpà wǒ nǚ'ér bù xǐhuān.This pink is too much. I'm afraid my daughter isn't going to like it.
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 pǎo le.You finally realized that you were ripped off? I'm afraid the scammer is long gone.

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。Yīgèrén qù nàge 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.If you put it that way, I'm afraid she will be upset.

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. You can add in 我, but it needs to go after 恐怕.

我恐怕帮不了你。Never put 我 before 恐怕!
恐怕我帮不了你。Kǒngpà wǒ bāng buliǎo nǐ.I'm afraid I can't help you.

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]