Chinese word

焦虑

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiāo lǜ

Meaning

  • adjectiveanxious

Example

他为考试感到焦虑。tā wèi kǎo shì gǎn dào jiāo lǜ

He feels anxious about the exam.

Illustration for 焦虑 (anxious)

More examples

面对突发事件，他并不焦虑，而是迅速采取行动。miàn duì tū fā shì jiàn tā bìng bù jiāo lǜ ér shì xùn sù cái qǔ xíng dòng

When faced with an unexpected event, he is not anxious but quickly takes action.

Core concept

A mind held tense by concern about what may happen, making it hard to settle, focus, or sleep.

Common phrases

  • 对成绩感到焦虑duì chéng jì gǎn dào jiāo lǜ

    feel anxious about grades

  • 变得焦虑biàn de jiāo lǜ

    become anxious

  • 难免焦虑nán miǎn jiāo lǜ

    inevitably feel anxious

Similar words

紧张jǐn zhāng: Feeling tense and unable to relax during an important or stressful situation.
不安bù ān: Feeling worried about the future or a result and unable to feel at ease.
忧虑yōu lǜ: Being deeply concerned about a problem or about what may happen in the future.
焦急jiāo jí: Feeling distressed by a delay and wanting the matter to be settled quickly.

Definition in Chinese

对将来或可能发生的事情感到不安和紧张，思绪难以平静，可能影响睡眠或注意力。duì jiāng lái huò kě néng fā shēng de shì qíng gǎn dào bù ān hé jǐn zhāng sī xù nán yǐ píng jìng kě néng yíng xiǎng shuì mián huò zhù yì lì

Word origin

焦 (jiāo, "burn or scorch") + 虑 (lǜ, "worry") joins the image of being inwardly heated with troubled thought, forming the modern sense of anxious unease.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, the cause is often introduced with 对 (duì, "toward") or 为 (wèi, "for"), while 有点儿 (yǒudiǎnr, "a little"), 很 (hěn, "quite"), and 非常 (fēicháng, "very") show its intensity.

Other meanings

  • anxietynoun
  • nervousnessnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 焦虑症jiāo lǜ zhènganxiety disordernoun
  • 焦虑感jiāo lǜ gǎnsense of anxietynoun

Word lists with this word