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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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<title>Expressing concern with "kongpa"
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<h1>Expressing concern with "kongpa"
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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 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."</p>

<h2>Contents</h2>

  
<div class="contents"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1 Structure </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">2 Examples </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">3 我 with 恐怕 </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4 See also </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">5 Sources and further reading </span></li>
<ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">5.1 Videos </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">5.2 Books</span></li>
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<h3>Structure</h3>

<p>恐怕 comes at the beginning of the sentence. The meaning is similar to "perhaps" or "probably." It's often used with auxiliary verbs, such as 要, 会, 能, 得, etc.</p>

<div class="deux">(Reason,) 恐怕 ⋯⋯</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">今天 恐怕 要 下雨 。
I'm afraid it's going to rain today. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">这 是 很重要 的 决定 ，你 恐怕 不 能 这么 着急 。
I'm afraid you can't rush this decision as it is a big one to make. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">老婆 ，我 晚上 要 加班 ，恐怕 不 能 回家 吃 晚饭 了 。
Wife, I'm going to work late tonight. I'm afraid I can't go home to eat dinner. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">这个 颜色 太 粉 了 ，恐怕 我女儿 不 喜欢 。
This pink is too much. I'm afraid my daughter isn't going to like it. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">这件事 恐怕 得 你 帮忙 。
I'm afraid you have to help me with this. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 现在 知道 被 骗 了 ？恐怕 骗子 早就 跑了 。
You finally realized the fact that you were ripped off? I'm afraid that guy was long gong. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">这样做 恐怕 不太 合适 。
I'm afraid it wasn't appropriate to do it this way. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">"恐怕"也经常和"吧"连用，表示一种委婉、商量、劝告的语气，而说话人有自己的想法。

恐怕 没 那么 容易 吧 。
I'm afraid it's not that easy. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">一个人 去 那个 地方 恐怕 不太 安全 吧 。
I'm afraid it's not safe to go there alone. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你 这样 说 ，恐怕 她 会 不 高兴 吧 。
I'm afraid she will be upset about the way you talk.</span><br/></li>
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<h2>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="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 恐怕 帮不了 你 。Never put 我 before 恐怕! </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">恐怕 我 帮不了 你 。
I'm afraid I can't help you.</span><br/></li>
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<h3>See also
</h3>
<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">"Would like to" with xiang </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Wanting to do something with yao </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Auxiliary verb
Auxiliary verb "hui" for "will"</span><br/></li>
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<h3>Sources and further reading
</h3>
<h4>Videos</h4>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Yoyo Chinese: "Have to and Don't have to"</span><br/></li>
</ul>
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<h4>Books</h4>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 164-5) →buy </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课下册） (pp. 301) →buy</span><br/></li>
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