Definitions

gǎn (verb) to hurry; to rush
gǎn (verb) to catch up with; to overtake

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Simplified form of .

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The traditional character 趕, composed of the radical 走 meaning "to walk or run" and the phonetic component 旱, originally conveyed the concrete sense of pursuing or chasing after something or someone on foot. Over time, its meaning expanded beyond physical pursuit to encompass the more abstract and common senses of hurrying to do something or to a place, as well as the act of driving something forward or away, such as driving cattle or expelling a person. The simplified form 赶, which replaces the original component 旱 with 干, retains this full range of meanings while streamlining the character’s structure, though the connection between its form and its original phonetic hint becomes less transparent.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我们紧回家。

Wǒmen gǎnjǐn huí jiā.

Let's hurry home.

上了汽车。

Tā gǎnshàngle qìchē.

He caught the bus.

奶奶去集了。

Nǎinai qù gǎnjí le.

Grandma went to the market.

我要时间学习。

Wǒ yào gǎn shíjiān xuéxí.

I need to hurry to study.

小狗追小猫。

Xiǎo gǒu zhuīgǎn xiǎo māo.

The puppy chases the kitten.

他们工到深夜。

Tāmen gǎngōng dào shēnyè.

They rush work until late at night.

为了飞机,他起得很早。

Wèile gǎn fēijī, tā qǐ de hěn zǎo.

To catch the plane, he got up very early.

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.