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怯

qiè
adjective #38,611

Meanings

  1. 1 timid
  2. 2 cowardly
  3. 3 nervous

Examples

第一天上班，她有点胆怯。
Dì-yī tiān shàngbān, tā yǒudiǎn dǎnqiè.
She felt nervous on her first day at work.
面对困难，不要有丝毫怯懦。
Miànduì kùnnan, búyào yǒu sīháo qiènuò.
Faced with difficulty, don't be the least bit timid.

Tips

usage
Common in 胆怯 (timid, cowardly) and 怯场 (stage fright). It describes shrinking back from fear or nervousness, milder than outright 害怕.
register
In Beijing speech 怯 can also mean "unsophisticated" or "hick," as in 露怯 (to show one's ignorance). This sense is colloquial and dialectal.

Components

radical
忄 xīn
heart (left-side form of 心)
The upright heart radical (left-side form of 心) marks this as an emotion: timidity is a feeling, not a physical act.
phonetic
去 qù
to go; to leave
On the right 去 supplies the sound, shifted from qù to qiè. The image of wanting to leave or back away also fits a timid feeling.

Stroke Order

怯 qiè