担心
to worry; to be concerned
HSK level
- Pinyin
- dānxīn
- Part of speech
- verb
- Level
- HSK 3
- Strokes
- 12
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 4
Stroke order for 担心
担心 is written with 12 strokes (担: 8, 心: 4). The animation replays automatically.
What does 担心 mean?
担心 (dānxīn) means 'to worry,' 'to be concerned about,' or 'to fret over' something or someone.
Literally, 担 means 'to carry on the shoulder / to bear' and 心 means 'heart,' so 担心 pictures carrying a heavy heart — a vivid image for the feeling of worry. It can be used about a person (我担心你 'I'm worried about you'), an event (我担心明天的考试 'I'm worried about tomorrow's exam), or stand alone with 别 (bié) to reassure: 别担心 ('don't worry') is one of the most common comforting phrases in Chinese. Two notes for English speakers: first, 担心 is a verb, not an adjective — you don't say 我很担心的 in the way you'd say 'I'm worried' as a state.
Instead, 我很担心 works as a complete sentence. Second, for stronger anxiety, use 着急 (zháojí, anxious / impatient) or 紧张 (jǐnzhāng, nervous/tense).
Character by character
Memory hook: 担 (carry / bear) + 心 (heart) = carrying a heavy heart — that's exactly what worrying feels like.
Hear 担心 in real episodes
担心 appears in 4 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
公司的人很担心，一开始说：不绕着地球飞了。
People at the company were worried, and at first they said: we won't fly around the Earth.
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可是她也担心，以后她的房子会不值钱。
But she also worries that later her house will lose its value.
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可是已经拿到许可证的酒吧老板担心，法律一放松，他们花大钱买来的许可证就不值钱了。
But pub owners who already hold licences worry that if the law is relaxed, the licences they paid a fortune for will lose their value.
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他说他担心两个孩子将来的世界，但有一件事让他安心。
He says he worries about the world his two children will inherit, but one thing puts his mind at ease.
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Example sentences
妈妈很担心你的身体。
Māma hěn dānxīn nǐ de shēntǐ.
Mom is very worried about your health.
spoken
别担心，我会帮你的。
Bié dānxīn, wǒ huì bāng nǐ de.
Don't worry, I'll help you.
spoken
我担心明天会下雨。
Wǒ dānxīn míngtiān huì xià yǔ.
I'm worried it'll rain tomorrow.
neutral
孩子还没回家，爸爸有点担心。
Háizi hái méi huí jiā, bàba yǒudiǎn dānxīn.
The child hasn't come home yet, and Dad is a little worried.
neutral
Common phrases with 担心
Synonyms
Don't confuse 担心 with
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 担心 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
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