恐 (kǒng) — (bound form) fear, terror; (bound form) to intimidate, to terrify; (bound form) I'm afraid that; perhaps (in 恐怕)
Definition
恐 (kǒng) is a bound morpheme meaning 'fear' — it doesn't stand alone but appears in words like 恐怖 ('terror') and 恐吓 ('to intimidate'). In 恐怕 it softens a statement into 'I'm afraid that / perhaps'.
bound form
fearterrorto intimidateto terrifyI'm afraid thatperhaps (in 恐怕)
Examples
- ，。Zhè bù diàn yǐng tài kǒng bù le, wǒ bù gǎn kàn.This movie is too scary; I don't dare watch it.
- ，。Tā jīng cháng kǒng hè bié rén, jié guǒ méi rén xǐ huan tā.He often intimidates others, and as a result no one likes him.
- ，。kǒng Pà tā lái bù liǎo, wǒ men zài děng yí huì r ba.I'm afraid he can't make it; let's wait a little longer.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
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
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