anxious
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anxious / afraid
Feeling fear, worry, or unease. Often used in the expression 'jemandem ist/wird bange' (someone is/becomes anxious).
Mir ist ein wenig bange vor der Prüfung morgen.
I am a little anxious about the exam tomorrow.
The adjective 'bange' is used almost exclusively predicatively, meaning it comes after the noun and a verb such as 'sein' (to be) or 'werden' (to become). Using it directly before a noun (e.g. 'der bange Mann') is very rare and sounds unnatural.
Dem Kind war nach dem Albtraum noch ganz bange.
After the nightmare, the child still felt very anxious.
The feeling is expressed with the fixed expression 'jemandem ist bange' (someone is anxious) or 'jemandem wird bange' (someone becomes anxious). The person who feels the fear is always in the dative.
Mir wird bange, wenn ich an die Zukunft denke.
I get anxious when I think about the future.
To express that something or someone causes fear, you use the expression 'jemandem bange machen' (to frighten someone). Here too, the person who becomes afraid is in the dative.
Mit seinen Schauergeschichten wollte er uns nur bange machen.
With his scary stories, he only wanted to frighten us.
afraid / anxious
'bang' and 'bange' mean almost the same thing in many situations: someone feels fear, worry, or inner unease. The expressions 'mir ist bang' and 'mir ist bange' are especially similar. That is why learners can easily confuse the words. In practice, 'bange' is very common in this expression, while 'bang' often sounds a little shorter or more elevated. Also important: 'jemandem bange machen' means to frighten someone or make someone worried.
Die Nachrichten vor der Reise haben den Eltern bange gemacht.
The news before the trip made the parents worried.
Im dunklen Treppenhaus wurde mir plötzlich bang.
In the dark stairwell, I suddenly became afraid.