How to express psychological insecurity (not physical insecurity)?

Question

These two dictionaries seem to offer translations for insecurity that capture the physical sort, not the psychological sort (i.e., insecurity about your looks, weight, smarts, etc.).

http://www.cantonese.sheik.co.uk/scripts/wordsearch.php?level=0

https://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/dictionary.php

Example sentence: What you react to, and what you're sensitive to, often reveal your insecurities.

1) In Mandarin, what's the best translation for psychological insecurity?

2) What's the best translation for Cantonese?

Answer 1

Insecurity comes from uncertainty and makes people feel worried and unsafe.

There are so many ways to say insecurity. Here are a few of them.

不安

不安心

不心安

心感不安

心有不安

惶恐不安

局促不安

不妥

不妥當

不實在

不踏實

In Cantonese, Initiate 不 becomes 唔. For example, 不安心 usually becomes 唔安心. So as 唔妥, 唔踏實.

When it comes to "insecurity about your looks, weight, smarts", it could be 無自信, 無信心. For example, 對自己容貌無信心.

It is more common to specify this kind of insecurity. For example, in Cantonese, 驚畀人笑 (worry about being laughed) , 驚做唔到 (worry about incapable to do), 驚出醜 (worry about performing in a bad way). 驚 and 怕 is very common word to describe insecurity. It is anxiety about something go wrong.

Some literally translate English phrases like "sense of security" as 安全感 and "sense of insecurity" as 不安感.

Answer 2

Security (think: Otis Redding) is 安全感, a very popular and common concept in Chinese.

——

Oxford gives the example:

有安全感
have a sense of security

——

Insecure is 没有安全感.

Oxford has the example sentence:

她没有安全感。
She feels insecure.

I think Cantonese would opt for 缺乏 over 没有 giving you something like:

缺乏安全感