惶恐 (huáng kǒng) — terrified, panic-stricken (formal/literary)

Definition

A formal, written adjective meaning deeply frightened and uneasy. Stronger than common 害怕, with a literary tone typical of formal writing.

adjective

terrifiedpanic-stricken (formal/literary)

，惶恐。
Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā liǎn shàng lù chū huáng kǒng de shén qíng.
Upon hearing the news, his face showed a terrified expression.
，惶恐。
Miàn duì lǎo shī de zhì wèn, tā xīn zhōng huáng kǒng bù ān.
Facing the teacher's interrogation, he felt panicked and uneasy inside.
，惶恐。
Qī hēi de yè lǐ, tā dú zì yì rén gǎn dào shí fēn huáng kǒng.
In the pitch-black night, she felt utterly terrified alone.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

惶huángfrightened

惶 and 恐 both express fear, so together they mean terrified or panic-stricken.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

忄皇惶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīn

Sound part声符shēngfú

皇

Same sound today

惶 uses 忄 (heart, written as 心) on the left and 皇 on the right for the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

𢀜

𢀜𢀜恐kǒng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

恐 is written with 心 (heart). The older form pairs 心 with 𢀜; the modern form can be read as 巩 above 心.

Appears in