促 (cù) · to urge; to press

Meanings

1 to urge; to press
2 to promote; to facilitate
3 hasty; hurried

Characters

促

cù

to urge / to press / hasty

Examples

HSK 3

促进发展。

Cùjìn fāzhǎn.

To promote development.

HSK 5

催促他快走。

Cuīcù tā kuài zǒu.

Urge him to go quickly.

Tips

usage

促进 = to promote, 催促 = to urge.

Components

radical

亻 rén

person (left-side radical form of 人)

Left-side person radical, the side form of 人. Marks 促 as a human action - to press, urge, hurry someone along - done by people to people. Indexes the character in the same family as 催 to urge, 仅 only, 任 to entrust, 仰 to look up to.

phonetic

足 zú

foot

Right side 足 is primarily a phonetic, supplying zú drifting to cù through an old initial alternation. But 足 'foot' also feeds the meaning: a person at someone's heels, pressing them to step quicker. The picture is one person literally on another's foot, urging haste, fitting 催促 to press.