赶 (gǎn): to hurry; to rush

Meanings

1 to hurry; to rush
2 to catch (a bus/train)
3 to drive away; to chase

Characters

赶

gǎn

to hurry; to rush; to catch up

Contains 走 (walk) radical — hurrying involves fast walking.

Examples

快赶不上飞机了！

Kuài gǎnbushàng fēijī le!

We're about to miss the plane!

赶公交车。

Gǎn gōngjiāochē.

To catch the bus.

他赶着去上班。

Tā gǎn zhe qù shàngbān.

He's rushing to work.

Tips

usage

赶上 means 'to catch up with' or 'to be in time for.' 赶不上 means 'to miss/not catch.' 赶走 means 'to drive away.'

Components

radical

走 zǒu

to walk; to run

The walk/run radical anchors the meaning — hurrying is fundamentally rapid pedestrian motion. Same radical groups 赶 with 起 (rise), 越 (transcend), 趣 (interest), 超 (surpass). The radical depicts a person striding forward, body bent — perfect for someone hurrying to catch a bus.

phonetic

干 gān

dry; to do (here phonetic)

Provides the sound (gān → gǎn with tone shift). The simplified form replaced the elaborate traditional phonetic 旱 with the simpler 干 to economise strokes. Same phonetic family as 杆 (pole), 肝 (liver), 竿 (bamboo pole).