急于

• Pinyin: jí yú
• Hanzi breakdown: 急 = 心 + 及 (heart + reach — urgency); 于 = directional/prepositional particle

Meaning

To be eager to; to be anxious to do something. Implies impatience or excessive haste in pursuing an outcome.

Often carries a slightly cautionary nuance — being too eager can lead to mistakes. Frequent in professional and narrative contexts to describe someone rushing toward a goal.

Examples

1. 他急于证明自己的能力，结果忽略了很多细节。 He was eager to prove his ability, and as a result he overlooked many details.
2. 公司急于扩张海外市场，导致前期准备不足。 The company was too eager to expand into overseas markets, which led to inadequate early-stage preparation.
3. 谈判双方都急于达成协议，但分歧仍然较大。 Both sides in the negotiations were eager to reach an agreement, but the differences were still significant.

Usage Guide

Context: business, narrative, criticism

Tone: cautionary

Do Say

• 新任管理者往往急于推行变革，却容易低估团队对重大调整的心理适应周期，从而引发不必要的内部阻力。(Newly appointed managers often rush to implement changes, yet easily underestimate the psychological adaptation period the team needs for major adjustments, thereby triggering unnecessary internal resistance.)
• 投资者急于套现的心态，在市场波动加剧的阶段往往会导致非理性的抛售行为，进一步放大价格下行压力。(The mentality of investors eager to cash out often leads to irrational selling behaviour during periods of heightened market volatility, further amplifying downward price pressure.)

Don't Say

• 急于想要 — redundant; use 急于 + verb directly, e.g., 急于获得 rather than 急于想要获得

Origin & History

急 (hasty/urgent) + 于 (at/toward — directional preposition)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal