忧 (yōu): to worry, to concern oneself with, worried
忧 (yōu) is a Chinese character meaning “to worry.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 忄 (semantic) and 尤 (phonetic). It ranks #1452 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 忧 heart. Its radical form 忄 (heart) appears in many related characters such as 忙 (máng, busy), 快 (kuài, fast, happy), 怎 (zěn, how).
Definitions
- to worry
- to concern oneself with
- worried
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 忧
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 忧郁 | yōu yù | sullen |
| 忧伤 | yōu shāng | distressed |
| 忧虑 | yōu lǜ | to worry |
| 无忧无虑 | wú yōu wú lǜ | (idiom) carefree |
| 忧愁 | yōu chóu | to be worried |
| 杞人忧天 | qǐ rén yōu tiān | lit. like the man of 杞[Qi3] who feared the sky would fall (idiom) |
| 高枕无忧 | gāo zhěn wú yōu | to sleep peacefully (idiom) |
| 忧心忡忡 | yōu xīn chōng chōng | deeply worried and sick at heart (idiom) |
| 忧心 | yōu xīn | concerned |
| 后顾之忧 | hòu gù zhī yōu | fears of trouble in the rear (idiom) |
| 喜忧参半 | xǐ yōu cān bàn | to have mixed feelings (about sth) |
| 烦忧 | fán yōu | to worry |
| 排忧解难 | pái yōu jiě nàn | to resolve a difficult situation and leave worries behind (idiom) |
| 分忧 | fēn yōu | to share tribulations |
| 堪忧 | kān yōu | worrying |
忧 appears in 45 compound words: 31 as the first character, 40 as the last, and 29 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 忧 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (13)
internal and external troubles; internal upheaval and external invasions
deep suffering can lead to enlightenment (idiom); storms make oaks take deeper root
internal and external troubles; internal upheaval and external invasions
Showing 12 of 13 idioms containing 忧.
Example Sentences
虽然失败了,但他忧不气馁,继续努力。
suī rán shī bài le , dàn tā yōu bù qì něi , jì xù nǔ lì .
Though he failed, he did not lose heart but continued to strive.
...市早苗上周与日央行行长会面时对加息表示担忧
. . . shì zǎo miáo shàng zhōu yǔ rì yāng háng háng cháng huì miàn shí duì jiā xī biǎo shì dān yōu
... Sanae expressed concern about interest rate hikes during a meeting with the governor of the Bank of Japan last week
香港铁路引入中国标淮 可望减成本 惟评论忧质素及外国参与降
xiāng gǎng tiě lù yǐn rù zhōng guó biāo huái kě wàng jiǎn chéng běn 惟 píng lùn yōu zhì sù jí wài guó cān yǔ jiàng
The introduction of China's standard Huai River by Hong Kong Railway is expected to reduce costs, but commentators are worried about the quality and foreign participation
Stifel因AI安全担忧下调JFrog目标价
S t i f e l yīn A I ān quán dān yōu xià diào J F r o g mù biāo jià
Stifel lowered JFrog's target price due to AI security concerns
...部陷停摆...2快速通关计画喊卡 航空业忧:旅客沦政治足球
. . . bù xiàn tíng bǎi . . . 2 kuài sù tōng guān jì huà hǎn kǎ háng kōng yè yōu : lǚ kè 沦 zhèng zhì zú qiú
... The ministry is in a standoff... 2 fast customs clearance plan shouts card aviation industry worries: passengers fall into political football
你为什么为我担忧?
Nǐ wèishénme wèi wǒ dānyōu?
Why are you worried about me?
只有少数的人是无忧无虑的。
Zhǐ yǒu shǎoshù de rén shì wúyōuwúlǜ de.
Few people are free from cares.
他在乡村里过着无忧无虑的生活。
Tā zài xiāngcūn lǐ guò zhe wúyōuwúlǜ de shēnghuó.
He is leading an easy life in the country.
我每个星期一都觉得很忧郁。
Wǒ měi gè Xīngqīyī dōu juéde hěn yōuyù.
I always feel blue on Mondays.
我们为她的安全担忧。
Wǒmen wèi tā de ānquán dānyōu.
We are anxious about her safety.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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