geoi6 paa3懼怕惧怕
Jyutpinggeoi6 paa3
Yalegeuih pa
Definition
To fear or dread; to feel a deep and vivid sense of fear.
writtenemotion
How it's used
Expresses a deep, intense, and often lingering psychological dread rather than a fleeting moment of being startled. It is significantly more formal than the everyday spoken word 驚. You will rarely hear it in casual conversation, as it carries a literary or serious tone often found in news reports or written essays.
Examples
He is very afraid of facing failure.
Are you afraid of this feeling of the unknown?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often use this interchangeably with 驚, but 驚 is the standard, versatile word for fear in Cantonese. Using 懼怕 in a casual setting like talking to friends about a spider or a scary movie will sound unnatural and overly dramatic.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
