Dictionary › 恐怕

恐怕

kǒng pà

Old HSK 4 HSK 3.0 level 4 2-character word

恐怕 (kǒng pà) means "I'm afraid (that); probably". It is an HSK 3.0 level 4 word, and was HSK 4 in the old six-level list.

What 恐怕 means

1. fear
2. to dread
3. I'm afraid that...
4. perhaps
5. maybe

How 恐怕 is used in grammar

恐怕 is a grammar word. Each link goes to its own section: what it does in that pattern, the structure, three example sentences with pinyin, and the mistake to avoid.

• Modal Stance Adverbs: 大概, 恐怕, 当然, 其实 (HSK 3)
• 也许/恐怕/大概: hedging expressions (HSK 4)

The official HSK 3.0 grammar outline lists it at level 4, adverbs (情态副词).

The characters in 恐怕

• 恐kǒngafraid; frightened; to fear
• 怕pàto be afraid; to fear; to dread

Example sentences

• 恐怕不行。
  I'm afraid not.
• 恐怕你要加班了。
  Kǒngpà nǐ yào jiābān le.
  I'm afraid you have to work overtime.
• 恐怕你误解我了。
  I'm afraid you misunderstood me.
• 恐怕今晚会下雨。
  I'm afraid it'll rain tonight.
• 恐怕我现在得走了。
  I'm afraid I have to go now.
• 我恐怕不能帮你了。
  I am afraid I can't help you.

Where 恐怕 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Modal & certainty adverbs (HSK 4), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 4 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read kǒng pà correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.