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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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<p>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
<em>afraid of</em>; 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."</p>
<h3 id="structure">Structure</h3>
<p>"恐怕" comes at the beginning of the sentence. The meaning is
similar to "perhaps" or "probably."</p>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>(Reason / Situation, ) 恐怕 + Fact / Conclusion</p>
</div>
<h3 id="examples">Examples</h3>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>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></li>
<li>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></li>
<li>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></li>
<li>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></li>
<li>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></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="我-with-恐怕">我 with 恐怕</h2>
<p>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:</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>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><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>
</div>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="&quot;Would_like_to&quot;_with_xiang" title=
"wikilink">"Would like to" with xiang</a></li>
<li><a href="Wanting_to_do_something_with_yao" title=
"wikilink">Wanting to do something with yao</a></li>
<li><a href="Auxiliary_verb" title="wikilink">Auxiliary
verb</a></li>
<li><a href="Auxiliary_verb_&quot;hui&quot;_for_&quot;will&quot;"
title="wikilink">Auxiliary verb "hui" for "will"</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further
reading</h2>
<h3 id="videos">Videos</h3>
<ul>
<li>Yoyo Chinese: <a href=
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L11Ulml2rJE&amp;list=PL94A5E422FB99CDDD&amp;index=17">
"Have to and Don't have to"</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="books">Books</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_1_(3rd_ed)" title=
"wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)</a> (pp.
164-5) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0887276385">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"40_Lessons_for_Basic_Chinese_Course_(%E5%9F%BA%E7%A1%80%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD40%E8%AF%BE%E4%B8%8B%E5%86%8C%EF%BC%89"
title="wikilink">40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course
(基础汉语40课下册）</a> (p. 301)<a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=allset-20">→buy</a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="Category:B2_grammar_points" title=
"wikilink">Category:B2 grammar points</a></p>
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