抢救 (qiǎng jiù) — to rescue, to save (in an emergency)

Definition

抢救 emphasizes urgency — rescuing from immediate, critical danger (patients, disaster victims, valuables). 救 is the neutral general verb; 急救 is specifically first-aid medical care.

verb

to rescueto save (in an emergency)

Examples

抢救。
Jǐng chá cóng fáng zi lǐ qiǎng jiù chū le liǎng gè hái zi.
The police rescued two children from the house.
抢救。
Yī shēng lì kè qiǎng jiù bìng rén.
The doctor immediately rescued the patient.
抢救。
Wǒ men bì xū qiǎng jiù zhè xiē zhòng yào de zī liào.
We must rescue these important materials.

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.

抢qiǎngrush

救jiùsave

抢 gives the sense of rushing, and 救 gives saving, expressing rescue in an urgent way.

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 搶; 抢 is its simplified writing.

扌倉搶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

倉

倉cāng搶qiǎng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 搶 pairs 扌 (hand) with 倉, which gives the sound; the simplified 抢 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 抢 →

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 →

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Medicine & Treatment Safety & Danger