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 is worried that he will 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 huíjiā, māma hěn dānxīn.When it had gotten late and her child hadn't come home, the mother was very worried.
• 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 A-P-P huì ràng rén méiyǒu yǐnsī.Some people are worried that using apps will erode privacy.
• 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"

• 他的 女儿 生病 了 ， 他 很 着急 。 Tā de nǚ’ér shēngbìng le, tā hěn zháojí.His daughter is sick, so he is very anxious.
• 她的 手机 找 不到 了 ， 她 很 着急 。 Tā de shǒujī zhǎo bùdào le, tā hěn zháojí.She couldn't find her cell phone, so she was very anxious.
• 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.
• 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.This matter isn't urgent. Do the other thing 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.
• 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 be worried, we're almost at the airport.

Sources and further reading

Websites

• 着急和担心有什么区别
• “着急”与“担心”的区别