追 meaning in English

zhuī

to chase; to pursue

HSK 3verb9 strokes

Meaning of 追

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

zhuī

to chase
to pursue
to look into
to investigate
to reminisce
to recall
to court (one's beloved)
to binge-watch (a TV drama)

duī

to sculpt
to carve
musical instrument (old)

How to use 追

追 means to chase someone physically, but it is also very common in casual speech for courting someone (追女孩) and for following a TV show episode by episode (追剧). Example: 他每天晚上都在追剧。(Tā měi tiān wǎnshang dōu zài zhuī jù.) He binge-watches dramas every night.

追 combines the walking radical 辶 with 𠂤, a shape that looks like a stack or a mound. Picture someone running along a road to catch up with what is ahead, and you have "to chase."

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 追 (zhuī) with 退 (tuì, to retreat), since both use 辶. Remember that 追 moves forward to chase, while 退 moves back. Also keep the first tone flat. Do not say zhuí.

追 in example sentences

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

他tā跑pǎo着zhe追zhuī上shàng他tā哥gē哥gē。

He ran to catch up to his brother.

有yǒu些xiē人rén只zhǐ追zhuī求qiú快kuài乐lè。

Some people pursue only pleasure.

他tā们men在zài追zhuī求qiú幸xìng福fú。

They are after happiness.

她tā追zhuī求qiú的de东dōng西xī，可kě是shì永yǒng远yuǎn无wú法fǎ得dé到dào的de啊a！

She will never be able to get the things she pursues!

追zhuī随suí你nǐ的de梦mèng想xiǎng。

Follow your dreams.

Stroke order for each character

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

追 zhuī · to chase · 9 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 追.

追求	zhuīqiú	to pursue (a goal etc) stubbornly; to seek after
追究	zhuījiū	to investigate; to look into
追踪	zhuīzōng	to track; to trace; to follow up; (HK, Tw) to follow (on social media)
追逐	zhuīzhú	to chase; to pursue vigorously
追随	zhuīsuí	to follow; to accompany
追赶	zhuīgǎn	to pursue; to chase after
追问	zhuīwèn	to question closely; to investigate in detail
追溯	zhuīsù	lit. to go upstream; to trace sth back to
追悼会	zhuīdàohuì	memorial service; funeral service
追尾	zhuīwěi	to tailgate; to hit the car in front as a result of tailgating
追捕	zhuībǔ	to pursue; to be after
追查	zhuīchá	to try to find out; to trace; to track down

Questions about 追

What does 追 mean?

追 (zhuī) means "to chase; to pursue" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 追?

追 is made of 1 character: 追 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.

Is 追 an HSK word?

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

How do you say "to chase a girl" or "to court someone" in Chinese?

Use 追 directly with the person as the object, as in 他在追她 (tā zài zhuī tā), "he is pursuing her." A person doing the courting is sometimes called 追求者 (zhuīqiúzhě), a suitor.

What is the difference between 追求 and 追?

追 is the everyday verb for chasing or following something, including people and TV shows. 追求 (zhuīqiú) is more formal and is used for pursuing abstract goals like 追求梦想 (zhuīqiú mèngxiǎng), "to pursue a dream." It can also mean to court someone in a more serious tone.