怕 (pà) is a Chinese character meaning “to fear”. It is written from 忄 (heart (left-side form)) and 白 (white; plain), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to fear”
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Structure
忄 + 白
Left–right structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（⿰忄白），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：左「忄」3 画 + 右「白」5 画 = 8 画；「忄」是「心」的左偏旁形，与情绪相关，「白 bái」在今音与「怕 pà」已分化，仍按今形判为声符位置。只描述今形构成，不追溯上古来源。
Memory aid
A heart (忄) that has gone white (白) — the face drains, the heart races. That is 怕, to be afraid.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 可怕kě pàfrightening; terrible怕 = pàHSK 3
- 不怕bú pànot afraid of怕 = pàHSK 3
- 害怕hài pàto be afraid; to fear怕 = pà
- 恐怕kǒng pàI am afraid that; probably; perhaps怕 = pà
- 惧怕jù pàto fear; to be afraid of怕 = pà
Go deeper
All readings
to fear
to fear; to be afraid of; to dread; also "I'm afraid that", marking a worried guess
对危险或不好的事情感到害怕、担心。也用在句首表示估计，如「怕是要下雨了」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 可怕kě pàfrightening; terrible怕 = pàHSK 3
- 不怕bú pànot afraid of怕 = pàHSK 3
- 害怕hài pàto be afraid; to fear怕 = pà
- 恐怕kǒng pàI am afraid that; probably; perhaps怕 = pà
- 惧怕jù pàto fear; to be afraid of怕 = pà
Sound component
白 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 怕 mean?
怕 (pà) means to fear; to be afraid of; to dread; also "I'm afraid that", marking a worried guess.
How do you pronounce 怕?
It is pronounced pà.
What parts is 怕 made of?
忄 (heart (left-side form)) and 白 (white; plain), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（⿰忄白），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：左「忄」3 画 + 右「白」5 画 = 8 画；「忄」是「心」的左偏旁形，与情绪相关，「白 bái」在今音与「怕 pà」已分化，仍按今形判为声符位置。只描述今形构成，不追溯上古来源。. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 怕 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 怕?
心. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 怕?
Common ones are 可怕 and 不怕. The reading of 怕 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.