唯恐

wéikǒng
adverb #29,835

Meanings

  1. 1 for fear that
  2. 2 lest
  3. 3 only afraid that

Examples

HSK 4
Tā wéikǒng chídào, tíqián yì xiǎoshí chūfā le.
Afraid of being late, she set out an hour early.
HSK 4
Tā wéikǒng shuō cuò huà, chénmò bù yǔ.
Fearing he might say the wrong thing, he stayed silent.

Tips

usage
唯恐 is slightly formal and often appears in written language. The colloquial equivalent is 就怕 or 生怕. 唯恐天下不乱 (hoping the world will fall into chaos) is a well-known idiom using this word.

Stroke Order

wéi
kǒng