赶 meaning in English

gǎn

to overtake; to catch up with; to hurry; to rush

HSK 3verbTraditional 趕10 strokes

Meaning of 赶

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

gǎn

to overtake; to catch up with
to hurry; to rush
to try to catch (the bus etc)
to drive (cattle etc) forward; to drive (sb) away
to avail oneself of (an opportunity)
until; by (a certain time)

How to use 赶

赶 is used for hurrying to catch something or someone, like a bus, a deadline, or a person ahead of you. It often appears in compounds such as 赶快 (gǎnkuài) and 赶上 (gǎnshàng). Example: 我得赶火车。(Wǒ děi gǎn huǒchē.) I have to rush to catch the train.

赶 has 走 (zǒu, to walk or run) on the left and 干 (gān) on the right, which hints at the sound. Picture someone running hard with 走 to catch up before it is too late.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 赶 (gǎn) with 敢 (gǎn, to dare) because they sound the same. Also, the right side is 干 with a straight vertical stroke, not 千 (qiān), which starts with a slanted stroke on top.

赶 in example sentences

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

快kuài一yì点diǎn，你nǐ就jiù能néng赶gǎn上shàng火huǒ车chē了le。

Hurry, and you will catch the train.

我wǒ明míng天tiān要yào赶gǎn大dà清qīng早zǎo的de火huǒ车chē。

I have to catch the early train tomorrow.

为wèi了le赶gǎn上shàng她tā，他tā尽jǐn快kuài的de走zǒu。

He walked as fast as he could to catch up with her.

如rú果guǒ你nǐ抓zhuā紧jǐn，你nǐ还hái能néng赶gǎn上shàng火huǒ车chē。

If you hurry you can still make the train.

她tā会huì尽jìn全quán力lì及jí时shí赶gǎn到dào这zhè儿ér的de。

She will do her best to be here on time.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

赶 gǎn · to overtake · 10 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 赶.

赶快	gǎnkuài	quickly; at once
赶紧	gǎnjǐn	hurriedly; without delay
赶到	gǎndào	to hurry (to some place)
赶上	gǎnshàng	to keep up with; to catch up with
赶不上	gǎnbushàng	can't keep up with; can't catch up with
赶忙	gǎnmáng	to hurry; to hasten
追赶	zhuīgǎn	to pursue; to chase after
赶往	gǎnwǎng	to hurry to (somewhere)
赶赴	gǎnfù	to hurry; to rush
赶走	gǎnzǒu	to drive out; to turn back
赶来	gǎnlái	to rush over
赶时间	gǎnshíjiān	to be in a hurry

Questions about 赶

What does 赶 mean?

赶 (gǎn) means "to overtake; to catch up with; to hurry; to rush" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 赶?

赶 is made of 1 character: 赶 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.

Is 赶 an HSK word?

Yes. 赶 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 赶 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 赶 is written 趕.

What is the difference between 赶快 and 赶紧?

Both mean to hurry or do something right away, and they are often interchangeable. 赶紧 can sound a little more urgent, as in 赶紧走 (gǎnjǐn zǒu), leave right now.

How do I say I missed the bus using 赶?

Use 没赶上 (méi gǎnshàng): 我没赶上公交车。(Wǒ méi gǎnshàng gōngjiāochē.) I didn't make it to the bus. 赶不上 means you can't make it, often said before it happens.