～おそれがある

About

〜おそれがある (lit. "there is concern/fear") is used to indicate that there is a chance that "X undesirable thing may happen" or that "Y undesirable state may arise".

〜おそれがある can be translated as "there is a chance of X" or "there is a possibility that/of Y" in English.

〜おそれがある statements are based on objective information, and are often used in contexts such as the weather report or the news.

E.g. このまま赤字あかじが続つづけば、会社かいしゃが倒産とうさんするおそれがあります。 "If (they) continue to be in the red like this, there is a chance that the company will go under."

E.g. 津波つなみの影響えいきょうで、堤防ていぼうが決壊けっかいするおそれがあるので、海岸かいがんから離はなれた所ところへ避難ひなんしてください。 "There is a chance that the embankment may be destroyed due to the tsunami, so please evacuate to an area that is away from the coast."

E.g. ガラパゴスペンギンは絶滅ぜつめつのおそれがあるため、保護活動ほごかつどうが行おこなわれている。 "Due to the possibility of Galapagos penguins going extinct, conservation efforts are currently being conducted."

〜おそれがある may occasionally be written in its kanji form as 恐おそれがある. When used as a grammatical construct, however, おそれ is almost always written in kana.

〜おそれがある is formal/stiff in tone.

Summary

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  〜おそれがある can be translated as "there is a chance of X" or "there is a possibility that/of Y" in English

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  〜おそれがある should be based on objective information

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  〜おそれがある is formal/stiff in tone