赶

趕

gǎn

干 + 走

HSK 2.0Level 4

HSK 3.0Level 4

Definitions

gǎn (verb) to hurry; to rush

gǎn (verb) to catch up with; to overtake

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 走 represents the meaning and 干 represents the sound. Simplified form of 趕.

Semantic: 走 Phonetic: 干

About

赶 is the simplified form of 趕, a phonosemantic compound. The left side, 走, is the semantic radical meaning 'walk' or 'run'; the right side, 干, gives the sound, replacing the original phonetic 旱. The character first meant to pursue or try to catch up with someone or something moving ahead. This physical sense of swift, purposeful motion later gave rise to meanings such as driving animals, hurrying to reach a place or meet a deadline, and rushing through a task.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我们赶紧回家。

Wǒmen gǎnjǐn huí jiā.

Let's hurry home.

他赶上了汽车。

Tā gǎnshàngle qìchē.

He caught the bus.

奶奶去赶集了。

Nǎinai qù gǎnjí le.

Grandma went to the market.

我要赶时间学习。

Wǒ yào gǎn shíjiān xuéxí.

I need to hurry to study.

小狗追赶小猫。

Xiǎo gǒu zhuīgǎn xiǎo māo.

The puppy chases the kitten.

他们赶工到深夜。

Tāmen gǎngōng dào shēnyè.

They rush work until late at night.

为了赶飞机，他起得很早。

Wèile gǎn fēijī, tā qǐ de hěn zǎo.

To catch the plane, he got up very early.

赶在日落之前，我们登上了山顶。

Gǎn zài rìluò zhīqián, wǒmen dēngshàngle shāndǐng.

Before sunset, we reached the mountain top.

Related Characters

Component: 干

Component: 走

赶