Chinese word

恐怖

Pronunciation

Pinyinkǒng bù

Meaning

  • adjectivescary

Example

这个电影很恐怖，我不敢看。zhè ge diàn yǐng hěn kǒng bù wǒ bù gǎn kàn

This movie is scary, so I don't dare watch it.

Illustration for 恐怖 (scary)

More examples

那栋房子里总有一种恐怖的气氛，让人不愿靠近。nà dòng fáng zi lǐ zǒng yǒu yì zhǒng kǒng bù de qì fēn ràng rén bú yuàn kào jìn

That house always has a frightening atmosphere, so people do not want to go near it.

Core concept

A powerful sense of danger that makes the mind and body pull back.

Common phrases

  • 恐怖的气氛kǒng bù de qì fēn

    frightening atmosphere

  • 恐怖的表情kǒng bù de biǎo qíng

    frightening expression

  • 恐怖的经历kǒng bù de jīng lì

    frightening experience

Similar words

害怕hài pà: Feeling fear because of danger or an unpleasant situation.
可怕kě pà: Causing people to feel strong fear through what they see or hear.
恐惧kǒng jù: Experiencing powerful fear that makes a person freeze.
惊恐jīng kǒng: Shocked and scared by something sudden, leaving a person unable to settle down.

Definition in Chinese

表示程度很高的害怕或惊骇，可用来描述人的主观感受、可怕的场面或惊悚作品带来的效果。biǎo shì chéng dù hěn gāo de hài pà huò jīng hài kě yòng lái miáo shù rén de zhǔ guān gǎn shòu kě pà de chǎng miàn huò jīng sǒng zuò pǐn dài lái de xiào guǒ

Word origin

The compound 恐 (kǒng, "fear") + 怖 (bù, "fright") combines two fear-related characters, giving the word its strong sense of terror.

Usage tips

  • 太可怕了 (tài kěpà le, "too frightening") is a common spoken reaction, while this adjective more readily labels the frightening quality of a film or scene.

Other meanings

  • terrornoun
  • fearnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 恐怖片kǒng bù piànhorror filmnoun
  • 恐怖故事kǒng bù gù shìhorror talenoun
  • 恐怖症kǒng bù zhèngphobianoun

Word lists with this word