赶不上

• Pinyin: gǎn bu shàng
• Hanzi breakdown: 赶 = 走 (walk) + 干 (phonetic); 不 = negation; 上 = directional complement meaning 'to reach'

Meaning

Cannot catch up with; cannot make it in time; cannot keep up with. Indicates inability to reach something or someone.

Used in multiple contexts: missing transportation (赶不上火车), falling behind in development (赶不上时代), or being inferior (赶不上他的水平). The opposite is 赶上. The 不 can be replaced with 得 for the positive form: 赶得上 (can catch up).

Examples

1. 路上堵车太严重了，我们肯定赶不上飞机了。 The traffic is too congested; we definitely won't make it to the flight.
2. 技术更新太快，我感觉自己都赶不上时代了。 Technology updates so fast that I feel like I can't keep up with the times.
3. 他的厨艺我是赶不上的，差得太远了。 There's no way I can match his cooking skills — the gap is just too big.

Usage Guide

Context: transportation, competition, everyday

Tone: apologetic

Do Say

• 抱歉，我赶不上今天的会议了。(Sorry, I won't be able to make it to today's meeting.)
• 这个速度我们赶不上他们。(At this pace, we can't catch up with them.)

Don't Say

• 把'赶不上'和'来不及'混用时不注意语境 (While similar, 赶不上 emphasizes failing to catch/reach something, while 来不及 emphasizes running out of time)

Origin & History

Resultative complement structure: 赶 (to chase, rush) + 不 (not) + 上 (up, reaching). The potential complement indicates inability to achieve the result.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal