赶往

• Pinyin: gǎn wǎng
• Hanzi breakdown: 赶 = 走 + 旱 (hurry, catch up); 往 = 彳 + 王 (go toward, in the direction of)

Meaning

To hurry toward; to rush to a place. Moving quickly and directly to a destination with urgency.

Similar to 赶赴 but slightly less formal and more widely used in both written and spoken Chinese. Common in news reports and everyday narratives. Implies direct, purposeful movement without detours.

Examples

1. 得知父亲突发心脏病，她立即放下手头全部工作，驱车赶往最近的三甲医院。 When she learned her father had suffered a sudden heart attack, she immediately dropped everything at work and drove to the nearest top-tier hospital.
2. 警方接获报案后迅速赶往案发地点，对现场进行系统性勘查和关键物证采集。 After receiving the report, the police rushed to the scene and carried out a systematic investigation and collected key physical evidence.
3. 志愿者们连夜赶往受灾山区，为当地居民送去生活物资和紧急医疗援助。 The volunteers traveled overnight to the disaster-stricken mountain area, delivering essential supplies and emergency medical aid to local residents.

Usage Guide

Context: news, everyday, emergency

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 接到求援信号后，海上救援队立刻启动应急预案，全速赶往事发海域实施救助行动。(After receiving the distress signal, the marine rescue team immediately activated the emergency plan and rushed at full speed to the incident area to carry out rescue operations.)
• 工作人员兵分多路赶往各个选区的投票站，确保选举工作在全市范围内顺利推进。(Staff members split into multiple groups and rushed to polling stations across all constituencies to ensure smooth progress of the election city-wide.)

Don't Say

• 我每天赶往上班 — for regular daily commuting use 去上班 or 赶去上班; 赶往 implies urgency and is not used for routine travel

Origin & History

赶 (hurry/rush) + 往 (toward/in the direction of)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal