惶

huáng

忄 + 皇

Definitions

huáng (adjective) frightened; afraid; anxious

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 忄 represents the meaning and 皇 represents the sound.

Semantic: 忄 Phonetic: 皇

About

惶 is a phono-semantic compound: the left side 忄 (a variant of 心 'heart') indicates an emotion or mental state, and the right side 皇 (huáng) supplies the sound, though as an independent character it means 'emperor'. This structure yields the sense of being frightened, terrified, apprehensive, or anxious. In usage, 惶 often pairs with other fear-related characters to form compounds that describe extreme panic, trepidation, alarm, or psychological distress.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我感到有些惶恐。

Wǒ gǎndào yǒuxiē huángkǒng.

I feel somewhat panicked.

他脸上露出惶恐的表情。

Tā liǎnshang lùchū huángkǒng de biǎoqíng.

His face shows a panicked expression.

孩子们惶惑地看着大人。

Háizimen huánghuò de kànzhe dàrén.

The children look at the adults with perplexity and alarm.

地震后，人们惶惶不安。

Dìzhèn hòu, rénmen huánghuáng bù'ān.

After the earthquake, people are anxious and uneasy.

这种不确定性令人惶惧。

Zhè zhǒng bù quèdìngxìng lìng rén huángjù.

This kind of uncertainty makes people fearful.

他惶急地寻找丢失的文件。

Tā huángjí de xúnzhǎo diūshī de wénjiàn.

He urgently and anxiously searches for the lost document.

在陌生的环境中，她感到惶然无助。

Zài mòshēng de huánjìng zhōng, tā gǎndào huángrán wúzhù.

In an unfamiliar environment, she feels panicked and helpless.

面对突如其来的变故，他内心充满惶惑与迷茫。

Miànduì túrúqílái de biàngù, tā nèixīn chōngmǎn huánghuò yǔ mímáng.

Facing the sudden change, his heart is full of perplexity and confusion.

Related Characters

Component: 忄

Component: 皇

惶