情急 (qíng jí) — desperate (to the point of acting rashly); in a panic

Definition

Means panicking or desperate enough to act rashly, almost always followed by 之下/之中 ('in a moment of…') to introduce the rash action.

adjective
desperate (to the point of acting rashly)in a panic

Examples

  • 情急，。
    qíng jí Zhī xià, tā shuō le bù gāi shuō de huà.
    In a moment of desperation, he said things he shouldn't have.
  • 情急。
    Tā qíng jí zhī zhōng zuò chū le cuò wù de jué dìng.
    She made a wrong decision in her panic.
  • 情急，。
    Bié qíng jí, xiān lěng jìng xià lái zài xiǎng bàn fǎ.
    Don't panic — calm down first and then think of a solution.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

情qíngsituation
急jíurgent

The idea of 情 becoming 急 gives a desperate, hurried state.

Characters in this word

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng情qíng
Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Open 情 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
及
及jí急jí
Same sound today

急 pairs 心 (heart) with 及, which gives the sound.

Open 急 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.