赶 (gǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “to hurry”. It is written from 走 (to walk; to go) and 干 (dry), one enclosing the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to hurry; to catch up”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
走 + 干
Enclosing structure
Structure from: IDS 拆分 ⿺走干，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：赶 共 10 笔，笔画 0–6 为「走」，7–9 为「干」；《简化字总表》赶〔趕〕，繁体从走旱声，简化以同韵的「干」替换声旁
Memory aid
Someone walking (走) fast, with a dry (干) field ahead to cross before the rain. Both parts really are in this character — the walk stretches underneath to carry 干 along: 赶, to hurry.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 赶快gǎn kuàiquickly; hurry up赶 = gǎn
- 赶紧gǎn jǐnhurriedly; without delay赶 = gǎnspoken asgán jǐn
Go deeper
All readings
to hurry; to catch up
to hurry; to rush for; to catch up with; to drive (away)
追；加快行动以求及时到达或完成；驱赶。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 赶快gǎn kuàiquickly; hurry up赶 = gǎn
- 赶紧gǎn jǐnhurriedly; without delay赶 = gǎnspoken asgán jǐn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 赶 mean?
赶 (gǎn) means to hurry; to rush for; to catch up with; to drive (away).
How do you pronounce 赶?
It is pronounced gǎn.
What parts is 赶 made of?
走 (to walk; to go) and 干 (dry), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: IDS 拆分 ⿺走干，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：赶 共 10 笔，笔画 0–6 为「走」，7–9 为「干」；《简化字总表》赶〔趕〕，繁体从走旱声，简化以同韵的「干」替换声旁. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 赶 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 赶?
走. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 赶?
Common ones are 赶快 and 赶紧. The reading of 赶 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.