Chinese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "害怕" in Chinese?

Q: How do you pronounce 害怕 in Chinese?

害怕 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /xaɪ˥˩.pʰa˥˩/. It means “scared / afraid.” hai-PAH, both syllables dropping hard. A scraped h, then a strongly aspirated p.

hai-PAH, both syllables dropping hard. A scraped h, then a strongly aspirated p.

害怕 /xaɪ˥˩.pʰa˥˩/

hàipà

The word descends twice, with the first compressed and the second fuller. The aspiration on the p is the segmental point: without it the syllable becomes bà, and English speakers reduce aspiration on the second syllable of a word almost as a reflex. Push the air even though it feels like the unstressed half.

Listen: 害怕

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Sound it out

hài A scraped h at the soft palate, then the wide diphthong of "eye" — open on "ah", closing toward "ee". The pitch plunges across it.

pà The lips release with a genuine gust of breath, onto a broad open "ah" with the jaw down. Another full descent, so the word drops twice.

Hear it in a sentence

我害怕坐飞机。

Wǒ hàipà zuò fēijī.

I am afraid of flying.

Listen: 我害怕坐飞机。

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我害怕坐飞机。 keeps wǒ at a full dip because hài falls, then hài, pà and zuò give three consecutive descents before fēi and jī hold level. That triple fall is the sentence's whole difficulty: each has to restart near the top rather than continuing downward from the last.

Where English speakers slip

A weak release on the p gives bà. Feel the air on your palm. The h in the first syllable also disappears for many learners, leaving "eye" — put friction at the back of the mouth. And the two falls get evened out into identical thumps rather than a short drop followed by a fuller one.