Psych Verbs (怕, 担心, 害怕, 希望, 高兴)

Psych verbs — verbs of feeling and mental state like 怕 (pà, be afraid), 担心 (dānxīn, worry), 喜欢 (xǐhuan, like), 高兴 (gāoxìng, glad), 感动 (gǎndòng, be moved) — are a small class that behaves half like a verb and half like an adjective. That double life is exactly what confuses English speakers, because English splits the same meanings into two different structures: a verb ("I fear dogs") and a be + adjective ("I am afraid of dogs"). Chinese uses one word for both, and that word can accept a degree adverb like 很 (very) — an adjective trait — while still taking an object or an embedded clause — a verb trait. Once you stop asking "is this a verb or an adjective?" and just accept "it's a gradable state that can also point at a thing," the whole class falls into place.

They take 很 and 非常 like adjectives

Because a feeling is a gradable state — you can be a little worried or extremely worried — psych verbs accept degree adverbs the way adjectives do. In fact, an unqualified psych verb can sound bare or contrastive, so 很 (hěn) is often added simply to make the sentence sound complete, not to mean a strong "very." This is the same "empty 很" you see with predicate adjectives.

They still take objects and whole clauses

Here is the verb half. Unlike a pure adjective, most psych verbs can point at something — a noun, a verb phrase, or a full clause — with no linking word and no equivalent of "that." English needs "afraid of dogs," "worried about you," "worried that he won't come"; Chinese drops all of that and lets the feeling word govern its object directly.

Notice the split inside the class. Words like 高兴 and 害怕 lean adjectival — they love 很, and 高兴 can't take a plain noun object (you can't say 我高兴你). Words like 希望 and 担心 lean *verbal — they readily swallow a clause, and 希望 barely takes 很 at all. Most sit in the middle and do both, which is why they are worth learning as their own category. For 喜欢, 爱 and 讨厌 specifically, see likes and dislikes.

When the feeling is caused: 让 / 使 / 令

Often a feeling is triggered by something else. Chinese builds this with a causative verb — 让 (ràng), 使 (shǐ), or the more formal 令 (lìng) — plus the psych verb, giving "make someone feel X." This is the natural home of 感动 (be moved), which you rarely use on its own.

For the full causative pattern and the formal 令, see 让 / 使 / 令 causatives.

Common Mistakes

1. Adding 是 before a psych verb. English "I am afraid / am worried" tempts learners to insert 是. But psych verbs are predicates on their own — they need no copula.

2. Adding 关于 for "worried about." English "worried about you" makes learners reach for 关于 (about). 担心 already means "worry-about"; the object attaches directly.

3. Keeping 生气 together when it takes an object. 生气 is a separable verb (离合词): the object slots inside it as 生 (someone) 的气, not after the whole word.

4. Stacking two degree adverbs. 很 and 非常 are both degree markers; you use one, not both.

Key Takeaways

• Psych verbs (怕, 担心, 喜欢, 高兴, 感动, 后悔, 希望) name gradable feelings and behave half like verbs, half like adjectives.
• Adjective side: they take degree adverbs — 很, 非常, 特别 — and 很 is often just default glue, not a strong "very."
• Verb side: they govern a noun or a whole clause directly, with no word for "of," "about," or "that."
• Never put 是 in front of them, and never add 关于 for "worried about" — the object attaches straight on.
• The class splits: 高兴/害怕 lean adjectival, 希望/担心 lean verbal; and 生气 is separable, so its object goes inside (生我的气).