EXPRESSING FEAR, WORRY, AND ANXIETY

51

Expressing fear, worry, and anxiety

51.1Expressing fear of something

To express fear of something, say:

subject pà something subject is afraid of something

!

Wn pà gnu.

I am afraid of dogs.

!"#$%!"#$%

Wnmen bù yào pà kùnnán.

We shouldn’t be afraid of difficulty.

!"#$%&'!"#$%&'

Wn mpma pà pàng, bù gkn dus chr.

My mother is afraid of getting fat. She doesn’t dare eat much.

!"#$%&'$%(!"#$%&'$%(

Zhège rén zhqn shì tipn bù pà, dì bù pà.

This person is not afraid of anything.

To tell someone not to be afraid of something, say:

Bié pà! ‘Don’t be afraid!’

!"#

Bié pà wn de gnu.

Don’t be afraid of my dog.

! Bù yào pà! ‘Don’t be afraid!’

!"!#$%"

Bù yào pà tp. Tp rén hln hko.

Don’t be afraid of him. He means well.

344

Expressing nervousness or anxiety

51.2

To indicate that someone is afraid use these expressions:

( ) pàsM le ‘to be scared to death’

!"

Wn pàsm le.

I am scared to death.

hàipà ‘to be afraid’

!"

Wn hln hàipà.

I’m very afraid.

/ kNngjù ‘to be terrified’ (literary expression used in formal speech and writing)

=SARS= !"#$%&'()*

=SARS= !"#$%&'()*

Trngdào SARS liúxíng de bàodào, dàjip dsu hln knngjù.

When people heard the report about the spread of SARS, they were filled with terror.

/ knngjù is also used as a noun, meaning fear or terror.

!"#$%&'()*+,-./01!"#$%&'()*+,-./01

Yr xikngdào zhànzhqng de klnéng xìng, wn xrnli jiù chsngmkn le knngjù.

When I think about the possibility of war, my heart fills with fear.

Í38.3.3

51.2Expressing nervousness or anxiety

To indicate that someone is nervous, say:

/ jMnzhPng ‘to be nervous’

!"#$%&!"#$%&

Kkoshì ymqián wn hln jmnzhpng.

Before I take a test I am very nervous.

To indicate that someone is worried or anxious, say:

D / zháojí ‘to be worried or anxious’

D !"#$D!"#$%&'(!)&

Tp zhkobuzháo fqijr piào le. Fqicháng zháojí.

He can’t find the airplane ticket(s). (He is) extremely anxious.

345

EXPRESSING FEAR, WORRY, AND ANXIETY

51.3

To indicate worry about someone or something, say:

/ dPnxRn ‘worry about’

!"#$!"#$

Wn dpnxrn wn de érzi.

I am worried about my son.

something D

something worried about something

!D!"#$

Wn wéi hòugun zháojí.

I am worried about the results.

To tell someone not to worry or be nervous, say:

D		!
		!
Bié zháojí.	Bié jmnzhpng.
Don’t worry.	Don’t be nervous.

To ask someone in an informal context what they are worried about, say:

D

!"#$

Nm zháo shénme jí a?

What are you worried about?

51.3Indicating that something is scary

To indicate that something is scary or frightening, say:

something kLpà

!"#$%&'(!"#$%&'()

Jrntipn kàn de zhège diànymng zhqn klpà.

The movie we saw today was very scary.

!"#!"#

Zhànzhqng zhqn klpà.

War is very frightening.

To describe something as scary, say:

noun knngbù de noun scary noun

346

Indicating that something scares someone

51.4

!"#$%&'(!"#$%&'(

Wn bù xmhuan kàn knngbù de diànymng.

I don’t like to watch horror movies.

Í9.2

51.4Indicating that something scares someone

something / xià someone

D!"#

Bié xiàzhe háizi.

Don’t scare the child.

!"#"$!"#"$

Nm bié xià wn hko bù hko?

Don’t scare me, okay?

!"#!"#

Nm xiàsm wn le.

You scared me to death.

347