赶场 (gǎn cháng) — to rush from one performance to another (theater context); to go from one event or place to another in a hurry

Definition

Literally 'rush to the next venue', originally a theater term for actors performing back-to-back. Now used broadly for rushing between events (parties, weddings, meetings) in a hurry.

verb
to rush from one performance to another (theater context)to go from one event or place to another in a hurry

Examples

  • 赶场，。
    Tā jīn tiān wǎn shàng yào gǎn cháng, xiān yǎn huà jù zài qù chàng xì.
    He has to rush between performances tonight — first a play, then an opera.
  • ，。
    Zhōu mò tā gǎn le sān chǎng, cóng hūn lǐ dào shēng rì pài duì zài dào tóng xué jù huì.
    On the weekend she rushed to three events: a wedding, a birthday party, and a class reunion.
  • ，赶场，。
    Bié zháo jí, wǒ men bú yòng gǎn cháng, shí jiān hái zǎo.
    Don't worry, we don't need to rush around — there's still time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

赶gǎnrush to
场chǎngvenue

赶 'rush to' and 场 'venue' mean hurrying from one event to another.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 趕; 赶 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
走走zǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
旱
旱hàn趕gǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 趕 combines 走, for the meaning, and 旱, for the sound; this is about 趕, not 赶.

Open 赶 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 場; 场 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng場chǎng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 場 pairs 土 (earth) with 昜 as a sound part; the simplified 场 is a later abbreviation, so its parts do not have that historical role.

Open 场 →

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