Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 趕工 / 赶工 | gǎngōng |
| 忙 | máng |
| 趕來 / 赶来 | gǎnlái |
Mandarin uses different terms to express 'hurry' based on whether you are rushing a task, traveling or describing a state of being busy. Use 趕工 / 赶工 when you are specifically rushing to finish work or a production task. Use 忙 to describe being busy or in a state of hurry. If you are traveling and need to hurry to reach a destination, use 趕路. To express the feeling of racing against the clock or being in a hurry due to time constraints, use 赶时间.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 趕工 / 赶工 literally means 'to rush work'.
Which one should you use?
While 趕工 / 赶工 refers to rushing a specific job or task to meet a deadline, 忙 is a more general term for being busy or in a hurry. For the specific act of hurrying while traveling from one place to another, use 趕路. To describe the urgency of a situation where one is racing against time, use 赶时间.
How does it change in a sentence?
The term 匆忙 is an adjective used to describe the manner in which an action is performed, such as walking or eating in a hurry.
How do you pronounce it?
gǎngōng
When do people say it?
In Mandarin, repeating a word twice, such as 快快, is a way to emphasize the sense of urgency.
Did you know?
- The word 忙 (busy/hurry) is composed of the radical for 'heart' (忄) and the character for 'death' or 'perish' (亡).
- In Chinese culture, saying one is 忙 is often a polite way to decline an invitation without saying 'no'.
- The character 趕 used in 趕工 and 趕路 originally referred to driving animals or livestock forward.
Examples in context
- 我他妈忙死了。I'm always in a fucking hurry.This example shows how to express being extremely busy using 忙.Tatoeba #9961404 by GlossaMatik, translation #2921580 by _undertoad
- 我們很匆忙。We're in a hurry.This example demonstrates using 忙 to say one is in a hurry.Tatoeba #819351 by Martha, translation #262958 by CK
- 我匆忙地吃了午飯。I ate lunch in a hurry.This example illustrates using 忙 to describe the manner of an action like eating.Tatoeba #849292 by Martha, translation #433485 by CK
- 请赶快办理这份文件Please hurry and handle this document.
- 请快点安排会议Please hurry up and schedule the meeting.
- 快赶紧过来！Hurry up and come over here!
- 快快走，我们马上要迟到了Hurry, we're about to be late!
- 8 more sentences on Tatoeba
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hurry” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 忙, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
