驰 (chí) is a Chinese character meaning “(of a horse or vehicle) to run fast”. It is written from 马 (horse) and 也 (also; too), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “to gallop; to speed”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
马 + 也
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字：馳，大驅也。从馬也聲
Memory aid
A horse (马) on the left, and 也 on the right telling you the sound. Picture the horse taking off — and 也 shouting "me too!" as it tries to keep up.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 奔驰bēn chíto speed along; to gallop驰 = chí
- 驰名chí míngwell-known; famous far and wide驰 = chí
Go deeper
All readings
to speed; to gallop
(of a horse or vehicle) to run fast; to speed along; to spread far (of fame or news)
（车马）快跑；也指名声传播得很远。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 奔驰bēn chíto speed along; to gallop驰 = chí
- 驰名chí míngwell-known; famous far and wide驰 = chí
Sound component
也 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 驰 mean?
驰 (chí) means (of a horse or vehicle) to run fast; to speed along; to spread far (of fame or news).
How do you pronounce 驰?
It is pronounced chí.
What parts is 驰 made of?
马 (horse) and 也 (also; too), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：馳，大驅也。从馬也聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 驰 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 驰?
马. 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 驰?
Common ones are 奔驰 and 驰名. The reading of 驰 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.