“Worry”: the subtle differences between dānxī - Cchatty

“Worry”: the subtle differences between dānxīn 担心, cāoxīn 操心, fāchóu 发愁, and zhāojí 着急

Dānxīn 担心 and fāchóu 发愁 are interchangeable in meaning “to worry about . . . ,” but dānxīn 担心 is more formal and conveys a deeper sense of concern than fāchóu 发愁, which is just used in the spoken language:

You don’t need to be worried about this matter.
Nǐ búyào wèi zhèijian shì dānxīn.
你不要为这件事担心。

OR:
Nǐ búyào wèi zhèijian shì fāchóu.
你不要为这件事发愁。

Cāoxīn 操心 conveys a really deep sense of worry but is used colloquially and only refers to worry over one’s loved ones, etc., and never over things like national or international affairs/problems:

Parents are always deeply worried about their children.
Fùmǔ zǒngshì wèi háizi cāoxīn.
父母总是为孩子操心。

NOTE: Children, even adult children, cannot be said to cāoxīn fùmǔ 操心父母. Zhāojí 着急 is to worry in the sense of “to feel anxious about” or “nervous about” something. It implies that the worry is outwardly apparent from a person’s expression:

Your car’s broken down? Don’t worry, I’ll help you fix it.
Nǐ de chēzi huài le ma? Bié zhāojí, wǒ bāng nǐ xiūlǐ.
你的车子坏了吗？别着急，我帮你修理。