什么是“赶作业”？我的作业故事

What does “赶” (gǎn) mean in Chinese — and what is 赶作业?

赶 (gǎn) expresses urgency against a deadline or schedule: you are racing to meet something before it escapes you. 赶作业 (gǎn zuòyè) means “to rush through homework at the last minute.” The same verb gives you 赶飞机 (“rush to catch a flight”), 赶公交 (“run to catch the bus”), and 赶时间 (“pressed for time”). One short verb, a dozen urgent situations.

The clip’s narrator explains the word herself: 赶字它表达的意思就是因为时间很紧所以急忙去做 — “the character 赶 expresses that because time is tight, you hurry to do something.” She then shares a personal story of staying up until 3 or 4 a.m. racing her sister to finish homework before school, competing to see who could 赶 their 作业 fastest and go to sleep first. Note that 赶 also covers the idea of “catching up”: 赶上 (gǎnshàng) means “to catch up to” or “to make it in time,” and 追赶 (zhuīgǎn) is “to chase after.”