HanziGuru.赶 · gǎn
赶
gǎn[gan3]Tone 3

to catch up, rush, drive away

HSK 3
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趕
Guru Deep Dive

English · to catch up, rush, drive away

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Topology:Left-right
Strokes:10
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (行走 zhī) acts as the flowing movement base, while the right side (干 gān) must be neatly centered and balanced so the character does not lean too far to the right.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 趕 contains the exact same phonetic component 干 on the right; the simplification is identical to the standard walking-base integration.
1. Meaning

to catch up with, to overtake

to hurry or rush toward a goalto catch a scheduled ride such as a bus or trainto drive animals forward or chase someone awayto avail oneself of a timely opportunityuntil or by a certain time limit
VerbNeutral#movement#time#urgency#actions
Sample Usage
  • 快点，我们要赶不上火车了！
    Kuài diǎn, wǒmen yào gǎn bù shàng huǒchē le!
    Hurry up, we are going to miss (fail to catch) the train!
  • 他在全力赶 Nian 终报告。
    Tā zài quánlì gǎn niánzhōng bàogào.
    He is rushing with all his might to finish the mid-year report.
2. Sound
/[kan²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
赶
gǎngan3
++
ˇ(214)
=gǎn
Initial Consonant
g
Type: Unaspirated Velar
Sounds like: hard g sound as in 'go'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air (sounds like 'c' in Vietnamese 'cá' or 'k' in English 'skate').
Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue raises to touch the soft palate, keeping airflow blocked momentarily before releasing.
Final Rhyme
an
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: rhymes with the 'un' in 'bun' or 'an' in 'tan'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ahn'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T3 (214)
3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips low and rises back up, resembling an incredulous English question intonation like 'Huh? Really?'
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 3 syllable, gǎn shifts to a rising Tone 2 (35) pitch contour.
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse the nasal final '-an' with the velar nasal '-ang' (gǎng). The ending is alveolar (-n), not velar (-ng).
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Start at a mid-low vocal pitch, dip down toward your chest, and then swing upward smoothly like a checkmark with your hand.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (行走 zhī) acts as the flowing movement base, while the right side (干 gān) must be neatly centered and balanced so the character does not lean too far to the right.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 趕 contains the exact same phonetic component 干 on the right; the simplification is identical to the standard walking-base integration.

4. Components

Radical 走 · Walking Radical (movement, walking, traveling)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 走 (Indicates movement, running, or traveling action.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 干 (original sound: gan)

A person walking swiftly (走) while holding a dry pole or trying to dry (干) tasks off quickly before time runs out. The left side is movement, and the right side (干) provides the 'gǎn' sound.

  • 走 Movement or walking radical on the left
  • 干 Phonetic component on the right providing the sound 'gān/gǎn'
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined the walking radical (走) to represent travel and pursuit, paired with 干 to give the phonetic pronunciation. Over time, it expanded from physical pursuit to catching up with schedules and rushing through tasks.

Semantic Evolution: From 'to walk fast and pursue someone' to 'to catch up with', 'to rush against a deadline', and 'to drive animals forward'.

  • The walking radical 走 historically depicted a person running with arms swinging.
  • The phonetic component 干 originally depicted a fork or shield, but here serves purely for its phonetic value.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
cản / cán
Similar to Vietnamese inquiring or dipping tone structures.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: カン (kan) / Kun: isogu
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
간
Sound Shift Bridge: Shared ancient roots across East Asian writing systems preserving the 'kan/gan' consonantal skeleton.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

You are WALKING (走) fast because your clothes are DRYING (干) outside and it starts to rain—you must RUSH to catch them before they get wet!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
赶
gǎnto rush, to catch upBase character with walking radical
杆
gǎnpole, shaftReplaces walking radical with wood radical (木) for wooden poles.
旱
hàndroughtReplaces walking radical with sun (日), meaning dry weather under the sun.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
起(qǐ)
qǐ starts with the running man radical (走/巳), but has 己 on the right instead of 干.
gan(gān)
干 means dry and lacks the moving-feet radical on the left entirely.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
快点！我们要[___]不上末班车了！
Clue: gǎn
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the left radical 走 with the similar-looking 辵 (chuò) found in characters like 进 or 近.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see 赶, what two main ideas of movement and speed come to mind?
Production: How do you write the verb meaning 'to rush / to catch up with' using the walking radical and 干?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

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