加快 (jiā kuài) — to accelerate; to speed up

Definition

加快 means to speed up or accelerate a pace, rate, or process (walking, learning, growth). It takes a direct object of the thing being sped up, unlike the intransitive 加速.

verb

to accelerateto speed up

Examples

加快。
Huǒ chē zhèng zài jiā kuài sù dù.
The train is speeding up.
加快。
Wǒ men bì xū jiā kuài xué xí sù dù.
We must speed up our learning pace.
加快。
Jīng jì zēng zhǎng zhèng zài jiā kuài.
Economic growth is accelerating.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

加jiāadd

快kuàifast

加 add and 快 fast together mean make something faster.

Characters in this word

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

力口加

力力lìstrength
口口kǒumouth

加 pairs 力 and 口. In one explanation 力 is strength and 口 is the mouth, meaning exaggeration; in another 力 is plowing effort and 口 is breath or exclamation, meaning extra effort.

Open 加 →

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

忄夬快

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīn

Sound part声符shēngfú

夬

夬guài快kuài

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

快 pairs the left part 忄 (full form 心, the heart) with the right part 夬, which gives the sound.

Open 快 →

Appears in