Comparing "danxin" and "zhaoji"

担心 (dānxīn) and 着急 (zháojí) can both be translated to mean "worry," and sometimes can be used in similar patterns and paired with similar words. Both can be used in informal and formal situations. However, 担心 is a verb, whereas 着急 is an adjective. In addition to "worried," 着急 is often used to mean "excited" or "anxious."

B1HSK3ASV4567

	担心 (dānxīn)	着急 (zháojí)
Meaning	to worry	worried, anxious, excited
Part of Speech	verb	adjective
Formality	informal	flexible

:Yes

Use 担心 as a verb meaning "to worry"

Because 担心 is a psychological verb, it can be intensified with adverbs like 很 and 非常, similar to adjectives.

• 他 担心 自己 被 老板 炒 鱿鱼 。 Tā dānxīn zìjǐ bèi lǎobǎn chǎo yóuyú.He was worried that he would be fired by his boss.
• 孩子 很 晚 了 还 没 回 家 ， 妈妈 很 担心 。 Háizi hěn wǎn le hái méi huí jiā, māma hěn dānxīn .My mother was worried when the child didn't come home late.
• 别 担心 ， 我的 病 不 严重 。 Bié dānxīn , wǒ de bìng bù yánzhòng. Don't worry, my illness is not serious.
• 有人 担心 用 APP 会 让 人 没有 隐私 。 Yǒurén dānxīn yòng APP huì ràng rén méiyǒu yǐnsī.Some people are worried about the lack of privacy with the app.
• 别 担心 ， 我们 支持 你 。 Bié dānxīn , wǒmen zhīchí nǐ.Don't worry, we support you.

Use 着急 as an adjective meaning "worried"

• 你 不要 着急 ， 我们 马上 就 到 机场 了 。 Nǐ bù yào zháojí , wǒmen mǎshàng jiù dào jīchǎng le.Don't worry, we'll be at the airport soon.
• 她的 手机 找 不到 了 ， 他 很 着急 。 Tā de shǒujī zhǎo bùdào le, tā hěn zháojí .She was very anxious because he couldn't find his cell phone.
• 他 是 一 个 很 着急 的 人。 Tā shì yī gè hěn zháojí de rén.He is a very anxious person.
• 马上 要 迟到 了 ， 所以 她 很 着急 。 Mǎshàng yào chídào le, suǒyǐ tā hěn zháojí .She was very anxious because she was going to be late.
• * 他的 女儿 生病 了 ， 他 很 着急 。 Tā de nǚ’ér shēngbìng le, tā hěn zháojí .His daughter is sick, and he is very anxious.
• 这 件 事情 不 着急，先 做 另外的 一 件 事情。 Zhè jiàn shìqing bù zháojí , xiān zuò lìngwài de yī jiàn shìqing.There's no rush on this one. Do the other one first.
• 不 着急，你 明天 再 给 我 发 邮件 吧。 Bù zháojí , nǐ míngtiān zài gěi wǒ fā yóujiàn ba.No hurry, you can send me an email tomorrow.

Sources and further reading

Websites

• 着急和担心有什么区别
• “着急”与“担心”的区别