sợ
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb: 1. To fear, to be afraid of: To perceive someone or something as dangerous, threatening, or causing anxiety, leading to a feeling of fear or dread. 2. To be intimidated by, to be in awe of: To feel a sense of deference or reluctance to oppose, often due to authority, power, or respect. 3. To be apprehensive about, to worry about: To feel uneasy or concerned about a potential negative outcome or possibility.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Trẻ con thường sợ bóng tối. (Children are often afraid of the dark.)
- Cô ấy sợ rằng mình sẽ đến muộn. (She is afraid that she will be late.)
- Anh ta rất sợ sếp của mình. (He is very intimidated by his boss.)
- Tôi sợ làm phiền bạn. (I am apprehensive about disturbing you.)
Advanced Usage
- "sợ rằng" / "sợ là": A phrase meaning "to fear that", used to introduce a clause expressing a worried thought.
- Tôi sợ rằng kế hoạch này sẽ thất bại. (I fear that this plan will fail.)
- "sợ hãi": An intensified form, meaning "to be terrified, to be frightened".
- Âm thanh đó khiến mọi người sợ hãi. (That sound made everyone terrified.)
- "phát sợ": To become scared, to take fright.
- Nghe tin đó, cô ấy phát sợ. (Upon hearing that news, she took fright.)
Variants and Related Words
- Sợ sệt (verb): To be timid, to be easily frightened (often implies a habitual or characteristic timidity).
- Đứa bé rất sợ sệt khi gặp người lạ. (The child is very timid when meeting strangers.)
- Sợ hãi (noun): Fear, terror (used as a noun).
- Nỗi sợ hãi bao trùm cả thị trấn. (Fear enveloped the whole town.)
- Hoảng sợ (verb): To panic, to be in a state of sudden, overwhelming fear.
- Mọi người hoảng sợ và chạy tán loạn. (People panicked and ran in disarray.)
- E sợ (verb): To dread, to have a deep-seated fear or apprehension about something anticipated.
- Tôi e sợ ngày thi đó sẽ đến. (I dread the day that exam comes.)
Synonyms
- Lo sợ (verb): To be anxious and afraid.
- Khiếp sợ (verb): To be terrified, to be in awe (stronger than "sợ hãi").
- Ngại (verb): To be reluctant, to hesitate (often due to inconvenience or shyness, less intense than "sợ").
Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)
- Sợ chết khiếp: To be scared to death (idiomatic, colloquial).
- Tôi sợ chết khiếp khi nhìn thấy con rắn. (I was scared to death when I saw the snake.)
- Sợ vãi cứt / Sợ vãi đái (colloquial, vulgar): To be so scared that one loses bowel/bladder control; to be shit-scared.
- Thằng đó sợ vãi cứt khi bị cảnh sát bắt. (That guy was shit-scared when caught by the police.)
Related Idioms
- Sợ bóng sợ gió: Literally "to be afraid of shadows and wind"; to be overly fearful, paranoid, or jumpy.
- Sau vụ tai nạn, anh ấy trở nên sợ bóng sợ gió. (After the accident, he became paranoid and jumpy.)
- Sợ như chuột thấy mèo: Literally "as scared as a mouse seeing a cat"; to be extremely frightened.
- Thằng bé sợ như chuột thấy mèo khi bị bố mắng. (The boy was as scared as a mouse seeing a cat when scolded by his father.)