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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. The meaning is similar to "perhaps" or "probably." 

<div class="jiegou">
(Reason / Situation, ) 恐怕 + Fact / Conclusion
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=== Examples ===

<div class="liju">

*明天 我 很 忙，<em>恐怕</em> 没有 时间。<span class="pinyin">Míngtiān wǒ hěn máng, <em>kǒngpà</em> méiyǒu shíjiān.</span><span class="trans">I'm busy tomorrow, I'm afraid I don't have time.</span>
*已经 很 晚 了，<em>恐怕</em> 他 不 会 来 了。<span class="pinyin">Yǐjīng hěn wǎn le, <em>kǒngpà </em> tā bù huì lái le.</span><span class="trans">It's already very late. I'm afraid he's not coming.</span>
*这样 做 <em>恐怕</em> 不行。<span class="pinyin">Zhèyàng zuò <em>kǒngpà</em> bù xíng.</span><span class="trans">I'm afraid it doesn't work this way.</span>
*工作 太 多 了，<em>恐怕</em> 今天 做 不 完。<span class="pinyin"> Gōngzuò tài duō le, <em>kǒngpà </em> jīntiān zuò bù wán.</span><span class="trans">There's too much work. I'm afraid I can't finish it all today.</span>
*饭 太 多 了，<em>恐怕</em> 我 吃 不 完。<span class="pinyin">Fàn tài duō le, <em>kǒngpà </em> wǒ chī bù wán.</span><span class="trans">Rice is too much. I'm afraid I can't eat it all.</span>

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== 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:

<div class="liju">

<ul>
<li class="x">我 <em>恐怕</em>今天没有时间做作业。<span class="expl">Never put 我 before 恐怕!</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em> kǒngpà</em> jīntiān méiyóǔ shíjiān zuò zuòyè.</span></li>
<li class="o"><strong>恐怕</strong> <em>我</em> 今天 没有 时间 做 作业 。<span class="expl">Always use 恐怕 before 我.</span><span class="pinyin"><strong>Kǒngpà</strong> <em>wǒ</em> jīntiān méiyóu shíjiān zuò zuòyè.</span><span class="trans">I'm afraid today I don't have time to do homework.</span></li>
</ul>

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==See also==

* [["Would like to" with xiang]]
* [[Wanting to do something with yao]]
* [[Auxiliary verb]]
* [[Auxiliary verb "hui" for "will"]]

== Sources and further reading ==

===Videos===

* Yoyo Chinese: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L11Ulml2rJE&list=PL94A5E422FB99CDDD&index=17 "Have to and Don't have to"]

=== Books ===

* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)]] (pp. 164-5) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276385 →buy]
*[[40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课下册）]] (p. 301)[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&linkCode=as2&tag=allset-20 →buy]

[[Category:B2 grammar points]]
{{Basic Grammar|恐怕|B2|恐怕 + Fact|<em>恐怕</em> 今天 做 不 完。|grammar point|ASGD4BA3}}
{{Used for|Expressing concern}}
{{POS|Adverbs}}