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追赶 (zhuī gǎn) — to chase after, to pursue; to catch up with, to overtake

Definition

追赶 is to chase or catch up with someone/something moving ahead — concrete physical pursuit, unlike 追求 (pursue an abstract goal) or 追踪 (track/investigate). Pairs with 赶上 when the goal is to close a gap.

verb
to chase afterto pursueto catch up withto overtake

Examples

  • 追赶。
    Tā qí zì xíng chē zhuī gǎn qián miàn de chē.
    He rode his bike chasing after the car ahead.
  • 追赶。
    Jǐng chá zhèng zài zhuī gǎn yí gè xiǎo tōu.
    The police are chasing a thief.
  • 追赶。
    Tā nǔ lì xué xí dǎ suàn zhuī gǎn shàng tóng xué men.
    He studies hard to catch up with his classmates.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

追zhuīpursue
赶gǎncatch up

追 and 赶 both mean chase/pursue and catch up/overtake; together they describe pursuing until one catches up.

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chuòmovement
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠂤
𠂤𠂤追zhuī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The 辶 part shows movement, while 𠂤 gives the sound, for the sense of moving after or pursuing.

Open 追 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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