急

jí

刍 + 心

HSK 3.0Level 3

Definitions

jí (adjective) urgent; pressing

jí (adjective) rapid; hurried

jí (adjective) worried; anxious

jí (verb) to make anxious

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 心 represents the meaning and 及 represents the sound.

Semantic: 心 Phonetic: 刍

About

The character 急 is a phono-semantic compound with the heart radical 心 at the bottom, linking it to emotions and mental states. The upper component, a modified form of 及 (meaning "to reach" or "catch up"), provides the phonetic cue. Its original sense relates to an inner feeling of anxiety or distress, derived from the heart radical. From this psychological core, the meaning extended to describe pressing external situations, giving rise to modern notions of urgency, emergency, and hurried action.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他很着急。

Tā hěn zháo jí.

He is very anxious.

我急着去上学。

Wǒ jízhe qù shàng xué.

I am in a hurry to go to school.

这件事很紧急。

Zhè jiàn shì hěn jǐn jí.

This matter is very urgent.

她急得哭了起来。

Tā jí de kū le qǐlái.

She was so anxious that she started crying.

医生急忙赶到医院。

Yīshēng jímáng gǎn dào yīyuàn.

The doctor hurried to the hospital.

遇到紧急情况要冷静。

Yù dào jǐn jí qíngkuàng yào lěngjìng.

When encountering an emergency, stay calm.

他急于证明自己的观点。

Tā jíyú zhèngmíng zìjǐ de guāndiǎn.

He is eager to prove his point.

在紧急会议上，大家讨论了解决方案。

Zài jǐn jí huìyì shàng, dàjiā tǎolùn le jiějué fāng'àn.

In the emergency meeting, everyone discussed solutions.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 刍

Component: 心

急