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仓促 (cāng cù) — hasty, hurried (often implying insufficient preparation); abrupt, all of a sudden (in a rushed manner)

Definition

仓促 stresses insufficient preparation — rushed and therefore underdone. Unlike 匆忙 (just hurried), 仓促 implies the result suffered; 突然 / 忽然 describe timing, not poor readiness.

adjective
hastyhurried (often implying insufficient preparation)abruptall of a sudden (in a rushed manner)

Examples

  • 仓促，。
    Zhè cì lǚ xíng zhǔn bèi dé tài cāng cù, chū fā shí cái fā xiàn wàng dài le hěn duō dōng xī.
    This trip was prepared too hastily — only when we left did we find we'd forgotten to bring many things.
  • 仓促，。
    Tā cāng cù dì qiān le hé tong, shì hòu cái hòu huǐ méi yǒu zǐ xì yuè dú tiáo kuǎn.
    He signed the contract hurriedly, and only later regretted not reading the terms carefully.
  • 仓促，。
    Yīn wèi shí jiān cāng cù, wǒ men zhǐ néng jiǎn dān chī gè wǔ fàn jiù chū fā le.
    Because time was tight, we could only have a quick lunch and then set off.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 倉; 仓 is its simplified writing.

仓 is explained through the traditional form 倉, which pairs 合 (gather) with 戶 (door) to show a warehouse.

Open 仓 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
足
足zú促cù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

促 pairs 亻 (person, written 人 when complete) with 足, which helps show its sound.

Open 促 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Time (Abstract)

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