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赶上 (gǎn shàng) — to catch up with; to keep up with; to make it in time for; to be in time for; to happen to encounter; to chance upon

Definition

Means to catch up with people/progress, or to arrive in time for something. Unlike 追赶 (active chasing), 赶上 focuses on reaching the same level or making a deadline; 赶 alone often means hurry or chase after.

verb
to catch up withto keep up withto make it in time forto be in time forto happen to encounterto chance upon

Examples

  • ，赶上。
    Wǒ nǔ lì xué xí, xī wàng néng gǎn shàng tóng xué men.
    I study hard, hoping to catch up with my classmates.
  • ，赶上。
    Wǒ men kuài zǒu, hái néng gǎn shàng zuì hòu yī bān gōng gòng qì chē.
    Let's walk quickly; we can still catch the last bus.
  • ，赶上。
    Zuó tiān wǒ chū qù sàn bù, zhèng gǎn shàng xià yǔ le.
    Yesterday I went for a walk and it happened to be raining.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

赶gǎnchase
上shàngup

Catch up 赶 plus up 上 gives reaching or overtaking someone.

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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 45000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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