Definition
奔 (bèn) means 'to head straight for' a destination or 'to rush about' for a purpose. Unlike 赶 (gǎn), which emphasizes catching something in time (赶车 'catch a bus'), 奔 focuses on the direction or goal. It differs from 奔波 (bēn bō) 'to rush about tirelessly' in that 奔 can be a single directed movement.
verb
to go straight towardsto head forto be preoccupied withto rush about (for something)
Easily confused
- 升shēnglook-aliketo rise, to go up; to increase (temperature, prices, etc.)
- 本běnsound-alike(classifier) used for books, periodicals, documents, etc.
- 本běnsound-alike(bound form) root; origin; source
- 笨bènsound-alikestupid; foolish
Examples
- ，。Chē yì tíng, dàjiā jiù zhí bèn chūkǒu.As soon as the car stopped, everyone headed straight for the exit.
- ，奔。Tā qīshí duō suì le, shì bèn bāshí de rén le.He's over seventy, heading for eighty.
- ，。Zuìjìn tā dàochù bèn bō, wèi gōngsī zhǎo tóuzī.Lately he's been rushing around everywhere finding investment for the company.
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