部首radical (心)部件component (rest of character)书写your drawing
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字源zìyuánEtymology & Structure
字源洞见 zìyuán dòngjiàn · Etymological Insight
急 stacks two parts vertically: 急 = 刍 (above) + 心 (below). The 心 (xīn) heart sits at the foot of the glyph as the semantic anchor, and the upper element carries the sound. This is a heart with weight pressing down on it, and that pressure is the whole meaning of the character: the squeeze felt in the chest when time runs short.
The 心 component is the same heart radical that grounds 想 (xiǎng, to think), 念 (niàn, to miss), and 怕 (pà, to fear). When 心 sits at the bottom of a stack rather than the left side, it keeps its full four-dot shape rather than collapsing into the 忄 form. Here it bears the pressure of the upper part literally, the way a chest tightens under stress.
The sense radiates outward from one root feeling. First the inward state: anxious, worried, the heart racing (着急 zháojí). Then the outward tempo it produces: hasty, hurried, doing things fast because there is no time (急忙 jímáng). Then the situation that forces the pace: pressing, critical, an emergency (紧急 jǐnjí). The same character covers the inner fluster and the outer rush because, in the Chinese reading, they are one event: a heart under a deadline.
Japanese borrowed the glyph as 急 (kyū / isogu), keeping both the speed sense (急行 kyūkō, express train) and the urgency sense intact. The 急行 of a Tokyo timetable and the 急诊 of a Beijing hospital trace back to the same pressed heart.
急切jíqièHurry & Worry
急忙jímánghurriedly, in a rush
adv 副词 fùcí
急 (urgent) + 忙 (máng, busy). An adverb of manner: doing something fast because time is short. It sits right before the verb to color the action with haste.
他急忙跑出门，连早饭都没吃。
Tā jímáng pǎo chū mén, lián zǎofàn dōu méi chī.
He rushed out the door without even eating breakfast.
着急zháojíto worry, to feel anxious
V 动词 dòngcí
着 (zháo, to be caught by) + 急 (urgency). To be seized by anxiety. This is the inward state of 急: a fretting heart, not a fast body. It is the most common everyday word for feeling worried over something time-sensitive.
Mom couldn't find the child and got so anxious she cried.
辨析 biànxī · 着急 vs. 担心着急 (zháojí) is restless worry tied to the clock or to something happening now; 担心 (dānxīn) is a quieter, longer worry about how things will turn out.
急性子jíxìngzian impatient person, hot-tempered type
N 名词 míngcí
急 (impatient) + 性子 (xìngzi, temperament). Someone whose nature is to rush, who cannot stand waiting. The opposite is 慢性子 (mànxìngzi), an unhurried, easygoing type.
他是个急性子，做什么都想马上做完。
Tā shì ge jíxìngzi, zuò shénme dōu xiǎng mǎshàng zuò wán.
He's an impatient type; whatever he does, he wants it finished right away.
紧急jǐnjíCrisis & Care
紧急jǐnjíurgent, critical, emergency
adj 形容词 xíngróngcí
紧 (jǐn, tight) + 急 (pressing). A tightened, pressing situation. This is the formal adjective for an emergency, used on signs, in announcements, and in news. 紧急情况 (jǐnjí qíngkuàng) is an emergency situation.
遇到紧急情况，请拨打这个电话。
Yùdào jǐnjí qíngkuàng, qǐng bōdǎ zhège diànhuà.
In an emergency, please dial this number.
急诊jízhěnemergency medical treatment, the ER
N 名词 míngcí
急 (urgent) + 诊 (zhěn, to diagnose). Emergency consultation. 急诊 is the hospital department you go to when something cannot wait, the Chinese counterpart of the emergency room. 看急诊 (kàn jízhěn) means to go to the ER.
他半夜发高烧，被送去看急诊。
Tā bànyè fā gāoshāo, bèi sòng qù kàn jízhěn.
He spiked a high fever in the middle of the night and was taken to the ER.
急救jíjiùfirst aid, emergency rescue
V/N 动名词 dòngmíngcí
急 (urgent) + 救 (jiù, to save). Saving in haste. The set term for first aid and emergency rescue: 急救箱 (jíjiùxiāng) is a first-aid kit, 急救车 (jíjiùchē) an ambulance.
Everyone should learn a little first-aid knowledge.
成语chéngyǔIdioms & Set Phrases
急中生智jí zhōng shēng zhìin a crisis, wit is born: quick thinking under pressurePraise for someone who finds a clever solution at the worst moment. The pressed heart of 急 sparks 智 (zhì, wisdom) precisely because there is no time to deliberate.
急功近利jí gōng jìn lìhungry for quick success and short-term gainA criticism: chasing immediate results (功 merit, 利 profit) at the cost of the long view. Common in commentary on business and education that sacrifices depth for speed.
心急如焚xīn jí rú fénheart anxious as if burning: consumed with worry焚 (fén) is to set ablaze. The heart so 急 it feels on fire, used for someone waiting in agony for urgent news. Literary and intense.
操之过急cāo zhī guò jíto act on it too hastily: to rush a matterA gentle warning that someone moved too fast and forced a result before its time. Often used to advise patience: 这件事不能操之过急 (don't rush this).
记忆法 jìyìfǎ · Master Retention Image
Picture a heart at the bottom of the glyph with a hand and a load stacked on top of it, bearing down. That is the shape of 急 read literally: the 心 heart pinned under weight at the foot of the character, with the upper element pressing it from above. The chest tightens, the pulse quickens, and the body wants to move now.
Hold that one image of a squeezed heart and every compound falls out of it. Press the heart inward and you get the worry of 着急 (zháojí). Let the pressure spill into the limbs and you get the rush of 急忙 (jímáng). Tighten the whole situation around it and you get 紧急 (jǐnjí), the emergency. Send it to the hospital and you get 急诊 (jízhěn).
When you read 急, do not picture speed first. Picture the heart that the deadline is squeezing. The speed is only what that heart does when it cannot sit still.
相关xiāngguānRelated
Related entries — pages and vocabulary in the neighbourhood of this one
忙mángbusy赶gǎnto rush, to catch快kuàifast, quick慢mànslow耐心nàixīnpatience紧张jǐnzhāngtense, nervous担心dānxīnto worry急忙jímánghurriedly着急zháojíto feel anxious紧急jǐnjíurgent, emergency急诊jízhěnemergency care, ER着急上火zháojí shànghuǒfrantic with worry