赶忙: Hurriedly Responding in Chinese
赶忙
赶忙 marks an immediate, hurried response to a situation. It appears before the action that the subject quickly undertakes, often after a trigger in the preceding clause. As an adverb, it cannot follow the action, take 了 itself, or replace 赶快 when issuing a direct command. It normally narrates a reaction; the triggering event therefore often appears first.
Published July 23, 2026
Reviewed July 23, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
Subject + 赶忙 + Verb phrase
Read the structure
赶忙 marks an immediate, hurried response to a situation. It appears before the action that the subject quickly undertakes, often after a trigger in the preceding clause. As an adverb, it cannot follow the action, take 了 itself, or replace 赶快 when issuing a direct command. It normally narrates a reaction; the triggering event therefore often appears first. Keep the model Subject + 赶忙 + Verb phrase visible while you compare each sentence.
发现要迟到了，他赶忙出门。
Realizing he would be late, he hurried out.
Choose the right context
Narrate a quick reaction to a new situation. Link a trigger to an immediate action. Describe hurried behavior in a past or present narrative.
听见孩子哭，她赶忙跑了过去。
Hearing the child cry, she hurried over.
Respect the boundary
Do not place it after the action. Do not attach 了 to 赶忙. Do not use it as a direct imperative meaning hurry up.
他出门赶忙。
(He went out hurriedly-marker.)
Repair the pattern
The adverb follows its action: 赶忙 must precede the hurried action 出门. 了 is attached to the adverb: Completion belongs to 跑过去, not to the adverb 赶忙.
他赶忙出门。
Use the repaired structure without changing the intended meaning.
02 / MAP
Read the Sentence
Read from left to right and notice the job performed by each part. The labels describe this example; they are not a rule that every Chinese sentence must copy.
发现要迟到了，他赶忙出门。
Realizing he would be late, he hurried out.
发现
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
要
赶忙
This part occupies the 赶忙 position in the model pattern.
迟到
Verb phrase
This part occupies the Verb phrase position in the model pattern.
了
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
，
赶忙
This part occupies the 赶忙 position in the model pattern.
他
Verb phrase
This part occupies the Verb phrase position in the model pattern.
赶忙
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
出门
赶忙
This part occupies the 赶忙 position in the model pattern.
03 / EXAMPLES
Examples You Can Reuse
Keep the structure stable while changing the people, objects, times, or conditions. Pinyin is shown as reading support; use the Chinese sentence and translation to confirm the grammar relationship.
发现要迟到了，他赶忙出门。
Realizing he would be late, he hurried out.
听见孩子哭，她赶忙跑了过去。
Hearing the child cry, she hurried over.
我说错了话，赶忙向他道歉。
I said the wrong thing and hurriedly apologized to him.
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- Narrate a quick reaction to a new situation.
- Link a trigger to an immediate action.
- Describe hurried behavior in a past or present narrative.
Do not use it when
- Do not place it after the action.
- Do not attach 了 to 赶忙.
- Do not use it as a direct imperative meaning hurry up.
05 / REPAIR
Compare Right and Wrong
Compare the smallest meaningful change. Each explanation identifies a placement, scope, form, or clause relationship instead of treating the whole sentence as one undifferentiated mistake.
他出门赶忙。
他赶忙出门。
The adverb follows its action
赶忙 must precede the hurried action 出门.
她赶忙了跑过去。
她赶忙跑了过去。
了 is attached to the adverb
Completion belongs to 跑过去, not to the adverb 赶忙.
他出门赶忙。
赶忙 must precede the hurried action 出门.
她赶忙了跑过去。
Completion belongs to 跑过去, not to the adverb 赶忙.
06 / PRACTICE
Practice the Grammar Point
Complete three short tasks in order: judge the pattern, repair a common error, and build the sentence. Feedback is fixed and reviewed, so these activities do not use a checker allowance.
1. Judge the sentence
2. Choose the correction
3. Build the sentence
Build a complete sentence with 赶忙.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 赶忙. Your draft moves to the checker through this browser session, selects this grammar point as the first review focus, and waits for you to submit.
08 / QUESTIONS
赶忙: Hurriedly Responding Questions
How is 赶忙 different from 赶快?
赶忙 usually narrates a hurried reaction, while 赶快 is common in commands telling someone to hurry.
Where does 赶忙 go?
It appears immediately before the action performed in haste. The trigger normally appears before it, which keeps the response sequence clear.
09 / SOURCES
Sources and Review Notes
These references support different parts of the lesson. GF0025-2021 supports level placement only; professional grammar works support the explanation, limits, examples, and cross-checks. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement.
Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF0025-2021)
Ministry of Education and State Language Commission · Ministry of Education of the PRC · 2021
Locator: GF0025-2021 Appendix A, Level 6 item 【六10】, 方式副词：不禁、赶忙、亲眼、特地、特意
Supports placement in HSK 6; it does not independently establish the usage explanation.
Official sourceA Reference Grammar of Chinese
Huang, Shi and Li · Cambridge University Press · 2022
Locator: Chapter 12, §§12.1–12.2, descriptive adverbs and pre-predicate placement
Treats manner adverbs as modifiers preceding the action they characterize.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
Compare
尽量尽量: As Much as Possible
Compare this lesson with 尽量 marking an effort to reach the greatest practical extent; both belong to volitional control and manner of action, but they organize a different sentence role or discourse job.
Compare
特意特意: Deliberately for a Specific Purpose
Compare this lesson with 特意 marking an action performed for a deliberate purpose; both belong to volitional control and manner of action, but they organize a different sentence role or discourse job.
Compare
不禁不禁: Unable to Help Reacting
Compare this lesson with 不禁 marking a spontaneous reaction that is hard to suppress; both belong to volitional control and manner of action, but they organize a different sentence role or discourse job.
Continue learning
时间Time Word Placement
Continue with the reviewed follow-up lesson to apply this pattern inside a broader, explicitly connected grammar construction.
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