惶 (huáng) — fearful, anxious (used in compounds); flurried, panicky (used in compounds)

Definition

惶 is a bound morpheme meaning 'anxious, panicked' — it never stands alone, only appearing in compounds like 惶恐. Stronger than 慌 (panicky, flustered) in tone.

bound form
fearfulanxious (used in compounds)flurriedpanicky (used in compounds)
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，。
    Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā gǎn dào fēi cháng huáng kǒng.
    Upon hearing this news, he felt extremely terrified.
  • 。
    Nà duàn shí jiān gōng sī shàng xià rén xīn huáng huáng.
    During that period, the whole company was in a state of anxiety.
  • 。
    Tā yì liǎn huáng kǒng dì pǎo jìn le bàn gōng shì.
    She ran into the office with a terrified look on her face.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
忄Written in full as心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
皇
皇huáng惶huáng
Same sound today

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

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