Chinese word

焦急

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiāo jí

Meaning

  • adjectiveanxious

Example

我很焦急，怕迟到会错过面试。wǒ hěn jiāo jí pà chí dào huì cuò guò miàn shì

I am very anxious, afraid I will miss the interview if I am late.

Illustration for 焦急 (anxious)

More examples

合同快到期了，负责人对交付进度感到焦急。hé tóng kuài dào qī le fù zé rén duì jiāo fù jìn dù gǎn dào jiāo jí

The contract is about to expire, and the person in charge feels anxious about the delivery progress.

Core concept

A person is caught between the need for an outcome and fear that it may go wrong, so calmness gives way to agitation.

Common phrases

  • 感到焦急gǎn dào jiāo jí

    feel anxious

  • 显得焦急xiǎn de jiāo jí

    appear anxious

Similar words

着急zháo jí: Feeling flustered by the need to do something quickly.
焦虑jiāo lǜ: Feeling troubled by continuing worry about what may happen in the future.
紧张jǐn zhāng: Feeling nervous and tense in a stressful situation or social setting.
心急xīn jí: Feeling impatient and restless because a result or action is not happening soon enough.

Definition in Chinese

对某事感到迫切和忧虑，心情紧张、难以平静，常因担心后果或等待结果而产生。duì mǒu shì gǎn dào pò qiè hé yōu lǜ xīn qíng jǐn zhāng nán yǐ píng jìng cháng yīn dān xīn hòu guǒ huò děng dài jié guǒ ér chǎn shēng

Word origin

焦急 (jiāojí, "anxious") joins 焦 (jiāo, "scorch") and 急 (jí, "urgent"), creating a compact image of worry that feels heated and time-pressed.

Usage tips

  • Unlike a simple statement of concern, this adjective can describe the whole tense mood during a delay, which makes it useful for describing people waiting for news.

Other meanings

  • flusteredadjective
  • fretfuladjective

Opposites

Related words

  • 焦急不安jiāo jí bù ānanxious and uneasyidiom
  • 焦急感jiāo jí gǎnfeeling of anxietynoun

Word lists with this word