救急 (jiù jí) — to help meet urgent needs; to provide emergency relief

Definition

救急 means to step in and help with an urgent, pressing need — a loan to cover a shortfall, emergency funds for a company, or rescue help in a crisis. Often used as 救个急, like asking for a short-term favor.

verb
to help meet urgent needsto provide emergency relief

Examples

  • ，救急，。
    Zhè cì huǒ zāi, duō kuī xiāo fáng yuán jí shí jiù jí, méi yǒu zào chéng shāng wáng.
    Thanks to the firefighters' timely emergency response, there were no casualties in this fire.
  • ，？
    Nǐ néng jiù gè jí, xiān bāng wǒ fù yí xià dǎ chē fèi ma?
    Can you do me a favor and cover my taxi fare for now?
  • 。
    Tā yòng zì jǐ de jī xù jiù le gōng sī de jí.
    He used his own savings to help the company through an emergency.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

救jiùsave
急jíurgent need

"救" means rescue and "急" means urgent need, describing help in emergencies.

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
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
求
求qiú救jiù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 救, 求 gives the sound, and 攴 is the action part.

Open 救 →

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.