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生怕 (shēng pà) — to be extremely afraid (that something bad might happen); for fear that; so as not to

Definition

生怕 (shēngpà) is the colloquial 'for fear that / so as not to' — like 免得 but emphasizes the speaker's worry about a bad outcome, not just avoidance. Stronger than the plain verb 怕 ('to be afraid of').

verb
to be extremely afraid (that something bad might happen)for fear thatso as not to

Examples

  • ，生怕。
    Tā zǒu lù hěn qīng, shēng pà chǎo xǐng bǎo bao.
    She walks very quietly, for fear of waking the baby.
  • 生怕，。
    Wǒ shēng pà shuō cuò huà, suǒ yǐ yì zhí méi shuō huà.
    I was extremely afraid of saying the wrong thing, so I kept silent.
  • 生怕，。
    Tā shēng pà chí dào, zǎo zǎo dì jiù chū fā le.
    He left very early for fear of being late.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

生shēngvery
怕pàfear

'生' and '怕' combine as very afraid, giving apprehension.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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

怕 pairs 心 (heart) with 白, which gives the sound.

Open 怕 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Emotions & Feelings

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