How to Say “I am scared” in Chinese
Feelings and opinions · HSK 3
"I am scared" in Chinese is 我很害怕 (Wǒ hěn hàipà). 害怕 (hàipà) is the standard word for 'afraid'; of spiders, of failing an exam, of the dark. In casual speech most people drop 害 and just say 我怕 + object: 我怕狗 (wǒ pà gǒu, 'I'm scared of dogs').
Primary translation
我很害怕
Wǒ hěn hàipà
Variants by register
Casual
我好怕
Wǒ hǎo pà
When to use it
害怕 (hàipà) is the standard word for 'afraid'; of spiders, of failing an exam, of the dark. In casual speech most people drop 害 and just say 我怕 + object: 我怕狗 (wǒ pà gǒu, 'I'm scared of dogs'). Using 害怕 alone without an object is fine for an emotional state. For 'terrified/panicked' use 吓死了 (xià sǐ le, literally 'scared to death'); extremely common online and in daily life, not actually morbid. 恐惧 (kǒngjù) is literary, for essays or psychology textbooks, not conversation.
Example sentences
一个人在家我很害怕。
Yí ge rén zài jiā wǒ hěn hàipà.
I'm scared being home alone.
我怕黑，能开着灯睡吗？
Wǒ pà hēi, néng kāi zhe dēng shuì ma?
I'm afraid of the dark, can we sleep with the light on?
吓死我了，你怎么不出声？
Xià sǐ wǒ le, nǐ zěnme bù chūshēng?
You scared me to death, why didn't you say anything?