TraceHanzi

赶 meaning and stroke order

gǎn

To overtake; to catch up with; to hurry; to rush; to try to catch (the bus etc)

HSK 310 strokesRadical 走Traditional 趕
Strokes10
Pinyingǎn
ToneTone 3
Frequency#639
Printable worksheetPractice all HSK 3 characters

How to write 赶, stroke by stroke

10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.

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Meaning of 赶

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

gǎnthird tone (dipping)
  1. to overtake; to catch up with
  2. to hurry; to rush
  3. to try to catch (the bus etc)
  4. to drive (cattle etc) forward; to drive (sb) away
  5. to avail oneself of (an opportunity)
  6. until; by (a certain time)

How 赶 is built

Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Run.

zǒuto walk+gāndry

走 gives the meaning and 干 hints at the sound.

Radical: 走 (to walk), shared by 22 characters on this site.

How to remember 赶

赶 is built from 走 (zǒu, to walk or run) wrapped around 干 (gān), which gives the sound. Picture someone running after a target to catch it, and you have "to hurry, to catch up."

赶 is very common in everyday speech for rushing to catch something or meet a deadline, often with 上 or 到 after it. Example: 我得赶公交车。(Wǒ děi gǎn gōngjiāochē.) I have to catch the bus.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 赶 with 起 (qǐ, to rise), since both sit on the 走 radical. Also watch the tone: 赶 is third tone gǎn, not first tone like its phonetic part 干 (gān).

Common words with 赶

Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.

WordPinyinMeaningLevel
赶快gǎnkuàiquickly; at onceHSK 3
赶紧gǎnjǐnhurriedly; without delayHSK 3
赶到gǎndàoto hurry (to some place)HSK 3
赶上gǎnshàngto keep up with; to catch up withHSK 6
赶不上gǎnbushàngcan't keep up with; can't catch up withHSK 6
赶忙gǎnmángto hurry; to hastenHSK 6
追赶zhuīgǎnto pursue; to chase afterHSK 7-9
赶往gǎnwǎngto hurry to (somewhere)HSK 7-9
赶赴gǎnfùto hurry; to rushHSK 7-9
赶走gǎnzǒuto drive out; to turn back
赶来gǎnláito rush over
赶时间gǎnshíjiānto be in a hurry
赶出gǎnchūto drive away
赶路gǎnlùto hasten on with one's journey; to hurry on

赶 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

快kuài点diǎn，不bù然rán要yào赶gǎn不bù上shàng火huǒ车chē了le。
Be quick, or you will miss the train.
他tā差chà一yì分fēn钟zhōng就jiù能néng赶gǎn上shàng火huǒ车chē。
He missed the train by a minute.
要yào想xiǎng赶gǎn上shàng火huǒ车chē就jiù动dòng作zuò快kuài点diǎn。
You'll have to get a move on if you want to catch the train.
我wǒ们men差chà一yì点diǎn没méi赶gǎn上shàng这zhè班bān车chē。
We just barely made the train.
如rú果guǒ你nǐ快kuài一yì点diǎn，还hái能néng赶gǎn上shàng他tā。
If you hurry, you will catch up with him.

Questions about 赶

How many strokes are in 赶?

赶 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 赶 mean?

赶 (gǎn) means to overtake; to catch up with; to hurry; to rush; to try to catch (the bus etc). A common word with it is 赶快 (gǎnkuài), meaning "quickly; at once".

How do you pronounce 赶?

赶 is pronounced gǎn, in the third tone (dipping).

What is the radical of 赶?

The radical of 赶 is 走, which carries the idea of "to walk". Dictionaries list 赶 under this radical.

What is the traditional form of 赶?

The traditional form of 赶 is 趕. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 赶 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.

Is 赶 on the HSK exam?

Yes. 赶 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.

What is the difference between 赶快 and 赶紧?

Both mean "hurry up" or "quickly" and are often interchangeable. 赶紧 can sound a little more urgent, and both are common in commands like 赶快走 (gǎnkuài zǒu), go quickly.

How do I say I missed the train using 赶?

Use 没赶上 (méi gǎnshàng): 我没赶上火车 (Wǒ méi gǎnshàng huǒchē), I missed the train. 赶不上 means you won't be able to make it in time.

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