赶时髦 (gǎn shí máo) — to follow the fashion, to keep up with trends

Definition

A colloquial verb meaning 'to chase trends / follow what's fashionable', often with a slight negative tone (trying hard to be trendy). Separable: 赶一次时髦.

verb
to follow the fashionto keep up with trends

Examples

  • 赶时髦，。
    Tā zǒng shì xǐ huan gǎn shí máo, jīn nián liú xíng shén me jiù mǎi shén me.
    She always likes to follow fashion — buys whatever is trendy this year.
  • ，，。
    Wèi le cān jiā jù huì, tā tè yì gǎn le yí cì shí máo, mǎi le zuì xīn kuǎn de shǒu jī.
    To attend the party, he deliberately kept up with the trend once and bought the latest-model phone.
  • 赶时髦，。
    Wǒ jué de nǐ bú yòng shén me dōu gǎn shí máo, shì hé zì jǐ de fēng gé cái shì zuì hǎo de.
    I think you don't have to follow fashion in everything — a style that suits you is the best.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

赶gǎnchase
时髦fashion
时shícurrent髦máohair
偏正Modifier + head

“赶” means to chase and “时髦” means current style, so it means to follow fashion.

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 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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