火速 (huǒ sù) — at top speed; with utmost urgency; to act immed… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Means acting with extreme urgency — often in response to an order or emergency. Stronger and more emphatic than 飞速, which describes sheer speed without the sense of crisis.

adverb

at top speedwith utmost urgencyto act immediately upon receiving an order

Examples

火速。
Jǐng chá jiē dào bào jǐng hòu huǒ sù gǎn dào xiàn chǎng.
The police rushed to the scene at top speed after receiving the call.
火速。
Tā men huǒ sù wán chéng le jǐn jí rèn wu.
They completed the urgent task with utmost speed.
火速。
Gōng sī huǒ sù fā bù le xīn chǎn pǐn xìn xī.
The company rapidly released information about the new product.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

"火" and "速" combine to mean speed like fire, utmost urgency.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

火 is a simple drawing of a fire, with flames shown rising upward.

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

辵辵chuò

Sound part声符shēngfú

束

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

速 pairs 辵, the walking part, with 束, which is used for its sound; the walking part fits the meaning of moving fast.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Frequency & Duration

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