to be afraid; to fear
HSK level
害怕 (hàipà) is a stative verb meaning 'to be afraid of' or 'to fear,' describing the emotional state of fear rather than a single startled moment.
It takes a direct object (害怕狗 — afraid of dogs) or a verb phrase (害怕一个人睡 — afraid to sleep alone). Two things differ from English: first, 害怕 is a verb, not an adjective, so you say 我很害怕 ('I am very afraid'), with 很 acting like 'is'; second, English splits 'afraid,' 'scared,' and 'frightened' across many words, but 害怕 covers all everyday uses. For the sudden jolt of being startled, native speakers use 吓 (xià) or 吓一跳; for deep, lasting dread, the formal 恐惧 (kǒngjù) fits better.
Note: Works in both spoken and written contexts. For stronger, more dramatic fear, use 恐惧 (kǒngjù); for being startled, use 吓 (xià).
Character by character
Memory hook: 害 (harm) + 怕 (fear) — the harm-fear: afraid that something bad will happen.
害怕 appears in 2 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
我小时候很害怕黑。
Wǒ xiǎo shíhou hěn hàipà hēi.
When I was little, I was very afraid of the dark.
spoken
不要害怕，我在这儿。
Búyào hàipà, wǒ zài zhèr.
Don't be afraid, I'm right here.
spoken
他害怕自己说错话。
Tā hàipà zìjǐ shuō cuò huà.
He's afraid of saying the wrong thing.
neutral
很多人都害怕看牙医。
Hěn duō rén dōu hàipà kàn yáyī.
A lot of people are afraid of going to the dentist.
neutral
害怕 is written with 18 strokes (害: 10, 怕: 8). Tap replay to watch each character drawn again.
怕 is the shorter, more colloquial version. 我怕狗 and 我害怕狗 both mean 'I'm afraid of dogs,' but 怕 sounds more casual and is more common in everyday speech. 害怕 is slightly more emphatic and complete.
恐惧 is formal/written, describing deep, lasting dread or terror. Use it in essays, news, or psychology contexts (对未来的恐惧 — fear of the future). 害怕 is the everyday word for normal fear.
吓 means 'to startle / scare' — the sudden jolt. 吓我一跳 ('you scared me / made me jump'). 害怕 is the ongoing emotional state of being afraid, not a momentary scare.
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