Dong Chinese dictionary

pà

to fear

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

Components

忄 Meaning component

xin, xīn

heart

忄 is a component form of 心.

白 Sound component

bái

white

怕 and 白 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.

Evolution

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

pà

to fear, be afraid of; apprehensive; to be afraid; to fear; to dread; to be unable to endure; perhaps

Pà

surname Pa

Most common words with 怕

Sources