▎恐怕, kǒngpà, (Adv), probably, I’m afraid that

 

Function The adverb 恐怕 introduces a situation that is likely to take place from the speaker’s perspective. Usually the situation is a non-favorable one, similar to ‘I am afraid that’ in English.

1 壓力太大，恐怕會影響身體健康。

Yālì tài dà, kǒngpà huì yǐngxiǎng shēntǐ jiànkāng.

I’m afraid that too much stress will affect your physical health.

2 網路雖然把世界變小了，但是人跟人的關係恐怕更遠了。

Wǎnglù suīrán bǎ shìjiè biàn xiǎo le, dànshì rén gēn rén de guānxi kǒngpà gèng yuǎn le.

Although the internet has made the world smaller, I’m afraid that relationships between people are drifting further and further apart.

3 我租的房子，合約快到期了，恐怕得搬家。

Wǒ zū de fángzi, héyuē kuài dàoqí le, kǒngpà děi bānjiā.

The contract on the apartment I’m renting is almost up. I’m afraid I’ll have to move.

4 走快一點吧。去晚了，恐怕小陳會生氣。

Zǒu kuài yìdiǎn ba. Qù wǎn le, kǒngpà Xiǎo Chén huì shēngqì.

Let’s move faster. If we’re late, Xiao Chen will probably get angry.

5 明天的報告，我還沒準備好，今天恐怕得熬夜。

Míngtiān de bàogào, wǒ hái méi zhǔnbèihǎo, jīntiān kǒngpà děi áoyè.

I haven’t prepared the report for tomorrow, I’m afraid I'll have to burn the midnight oil tonight.

 

Structures This adverb cannot be negated, nor can it be used in questions, as it is speaker-oriented.

 

Usage

(1) 大概 ‘approximately, about’ and 可能 ‘probably’ are also used to express an estimate. However, these expressions are neutral and don’t usually suggest that the situation is non-favorable. For example: 我家離學校大概五百公尺。Wǒ jiā lí xuéxiào dàgài wǔbǎi gōngchǐ. ‘my house is around 500 meters from school.’ 我大概等了十分鐘就走了。Wǒ dàgài děngle shí fēnzhōng jiù zǒu le. ‘I waited about 10 minutes, then I left.’ 明天大概不會下雨。Míngtiān dàgài bú huì xiàyǔ. ‘It probably won’t rain tomorrow.’ 今天晚上可能會下雨。Jīntiān wǎnshàng kěnéng huì xiàyǔ. ‘It might rain tonight.’

(2) 恐怕 is used to indicate the speaker’s conjecture. This contrasts with 怕, which can apply to anyone. 他怕熬夜會影響身體健康。Tā pà áoyè huì yǐngxiǎng shēntǐ jiànkāng. ‘He’s afraid that staying up late at night will affect (his) health.’ 你怕下雨的話，就帶傘吧。Nǐ pà xiàyǔ de huà, jiù dài sǎn ba. ‘If you’re worried that it’ll rain, go ahead and take an umbrella with you.’