恐怕还会节外生枝
“there might've been complications.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
若非他沉着应对
“If not for his steady response,”
恐怕 还会 节外生枝
“there might've been complications.”
姐夫 喝茶
“Shijun, have some tea.”
Direct spoken expression in this communicative setting.
Chinese conversational pragmatics favors identifying latent risks early through softened phrasing like 恐怕 to avoid blindsiding family or peers.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
I am afraid that; perhaps; probably
Used as a polite softener to express negative expectations or cautious concern.
new problems crop up unexpectedly; to create unnecessary complications
A common chengyu applied to situations where secondary issues arise and distract from or ruin the main objective.
