The character 恐 — “fear”: how to write it and what it means

恐
kǒng

fear; probably

10 strokes · HSK 4

The Chinese character 恐 is read kǒng and means “fear; probably”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.

Stroke order: how to write 恐

恐 has 10 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.

To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 恐, with strokes to trace and empty squares.

What 恐 is made of

At the bottom, 心 “heart”. In 恐怕 both characters mean “fear”.

The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.

Words with 恐

Frequently asked questions

How do you write the character 恐?

恐 has 10 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.

What does 恐 mean?

恐 means “fear; probably”. It appears in 恐怕 (“I'm afraid that”), 恐惧 (“fear”).

How do you pronounce 恐?

恐 is read kǒng. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.

How many strokes does 恐 have?

10 strokes.

← 许 allow梦 dream →

More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.

Write 恐 yourself

In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.

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