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应急 (yìng jí) — to respond to an emergency; emergency (attributive use)

Definition

应急 (yìngjí) means to respond to or handle an emergency, and as an attributive it means 'emergency' (应急物资, 应急电话). It focuses on the action/response, while 紧急 is the adjective describing the situation itself.

verb
to respond to an emergencyemergency (attributive use)

Examples

  • ，应急。
    Yù dào dì zhèn shí, wǒ men bì xū lì kè qǐ dòng yìng jí yù àn.
    When an earthquake hits, we must activate the emergency plan immediately.
  • 应急24。
    Zhè ge yìng jí diàn huà 24 xiǎo shí yǒu rén zhí shǒu.
    This emergency phone is staffed 24 hours a day.
  • ，应急。
    Dà jiā bú yào huāng, wǒ men zhǔn bèi le chōng zú de yìng jí wù zī.
    Don't panic, we have prepared plenty of emergency supplies.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

应yìngrespond to
急jíemergency

应 means respond and 急 means an urgent situation, giving the sense of dealing with 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 應; 应 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
䧹
䧹䧹應yìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 應 pairs 心 (heart) with 䧹 as a sound part; the simplified 应 is a later shorthand and its parts are not the original components.

Open 应 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Safety & Danger

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