Definition
恐惧 (kǒngjù) is a formal adjective describing a strong feeling of fear or terror in a person — 'frightened, terrified.' It is stronger and more literary than the common verb 怕 (pà 'to be afraid'), and it describes the person's internal state, unlike 可怕 (kěpà 'scary') which describes the thing causing fear, or 恐怖 (kǒngbù 'terrifying') which is used for extreme horror or terrorism.
adjective
frightenedterrifiedfearful
Examples
- ，恐惧。Tā miànduì hēi'àn, gǎndào fēicháng kǒng jù.She felt very frightened when facing the darkness.
- 恐惧。Zhè zhǒng kǒng jù de qíngxù ràng wǒ shuì bù zháo.This kind of fearful emotion keeps me from sleeping.
- 恐惧，。Tā kàn le yí bù kǒng jù de kǒngbù piàn, xià de bù gǎn shuìjiào.He watched a terrifying horror movie and was too scared to sleep.
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