迎头赶上 (yíng tóu gǎn shàng) — to strive hard to catch up (with the leaders or frontrunners)

Definition

A formal set phrase meaning to catch up head-on with a leader or frontrunner, implying bold, direct effort rather than gradual closing of the gap.

verb
to strive hard to catch up (with the leaders or frontrunners)

Examples

  • ，迎头赶上。
    Tā suī rán qǐ bù wǎn, dàn xiàn zài yǐ jīng yíng tóu gǎn shàng le.
    Although he started late, he has already caught up.
  • ，迎头赶上。
    Wǒ men bì xū jiā kuài sù dù, zhēng qǔ zǎo rì yíng tóu gǎn shàng.
    We must speed up and strive to catch up as soon as possible.
  • ，迎头赶上。
    Gōng sī zài jì shù yán fā shàng tóu rù jù zī, zhōng yú yíng tóu gǎn shàng le háng yè lǐng xiān zhě.
    The company invested heavily in R&D and finally caught up with the industry leaders.

Origin

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
卬
卬áng迎yíng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

迎 is made of 辶 (written fully as 辵) for the meaning and 卬 for the sound.

Open 迎 →

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 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu頭tóu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

Open 头 →

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 →

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