恐

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afraid; frightened; to fear

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

心 meaning “heart” + 巩 sound ( gǒng )

Components 巩心

fear · Heisig RSH #575

工 work + 凡 ordinary + 心 heart

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
三角恐龙	sān jiǎo kǒng lóng	triceratops (dinosaur)
恐水病	kǒng shuǐ bìng	rabies
恐龙总目	kǒng lóng zǒng mù	Dinosauria, superorder within class Sauropsida containing dinosaurs and birds
争前恐后	zhēng qián kǒng hòu	see 爭先恐後\|争先恐后[zheng1 xian1 kong3 hou4]
恐水症	kǒng shuǐ zhèng	rabies; hydrophobia
反恐战争	fǎn kǒng zhàn zhēng	war on terrorism
恐高症	kǒng gāo zhèng	acrophobia; fear of heights
恐同症	kǒng tóng zhèng	homophobia
恐血症	kǒng xuè zhèng	blood phobia; hemophobia
争先恐后	zhēng xiān kǒng hòu	(idiom) to compete to be first; to scramble to get ahead; to rush forward for fear of fall…
恐高	kǒng gāo	to be afraid of heights
恐龙类	kǒng lóng lèi	dinosaurs
唯恐天下不乱	wéi kǒng tiān xià bù luàn	to wish for the whole world to be in chaos (idiom)
细思极恐	xì sī jí kǒng	scary to think about (coll.) (coined c. 2013)
恐龙	kǒng lóng	dinosaur (CL:頭\|头[tou2],隻\|只[zhi1]); (old) (slang) ugly person
恐同	kǒng tóng	to be homophobic
反恐	fǎn kǒng	anti-terrorism; to fight against terrorism
兽脚类恐龙	shòu jiǎo lèi kǒng lóng	theropod (beast-footed dinosaur group); suborder Theropoda within order Saurischia contain…
生物恐怖主义	shēng wù kǒng bù zhǔ yì	bioterrorism
惊恐万状	jīng kǒng wàn zhuàng	convulsed with fear (idiom)

Characters sharing the sound component 巩 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
巩 sound part	gǒng	to bind, to guard, to strengthen; firm, secure, strong
蛩	qióng	cricket, locust; anxious
跫	qióng	the sound of footsteps
銎	qiōng	an axe's eyehole (for hanging it up)