“In a hurry” in Chinese – jímáng

Grammar Point:
In Chinese, 急忙 jímáng is an adverb that means “hurriedly” or “in a hurry.” It is often used to describe actions that are done quickly or urgently.

Structure

急忙 jímáng + V

他tā急忙jímáng走zǒu了le過去guòqù他tā急忙jímáng走zǒu了le过去guòqù
He hurried over.

我wǒ急忙jímáng給gěi他tā倒dào了le杯bēi水shuǐ我wǒ急忙jímáng给gěi他tā倒dào了le杯bēi水shuǐ
I hurriedly poured him a glass of water.

你nǐ急急忙忙jíjímángmáng地de是shì要yào去qù哪裡nǎlǐ？ 你nǐ急急忙忙jíjímángmáng地de是shì要yào去qù哪儿nǎr？
Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?

她tā發現fāxiàn有yǒu人rén在zài看kàn自己zìjǐ， 急忙jímáng拿起náqǐ手機shǒujī假裝jiǎzhuāng在zài忙máng她tā发现fāxiàn有yǒu人rén在zài看kàn自己zìjǐ， 急忙jímáng拿起náqǐ手机shǒujī假装jiǎzhuāng在zài忙máng
She noticed someone watching her and quickly picked up her phone pretending to be busy.

老闆lǎobǎn接到jiēdào緊急jǐnjí電話diànhuà， 急忙jímáng中斷zhōngduàn了le會議huìyì， 趕gǎn往wǎng公司gōngsī處理chǔlǐ問題wèntí老板lǎobǎn接到jiēdào紧急jǐnjí电话diànhuà， 急忙jímáng中断zhōngduàn了le会议huìyì， 赶gǎn往wǎng公司gōngsī处理chǔlǐ问题wèntí
The boss received an urgent call, hastily interrupted the meeting, and rushed to the company to deal with the issue.

媽媽māma聞wén到dào焦味jiāowèi， 急忙jímáng跑pǎo到dào廚房chúfáng把bǎ火huǒ關guān了le妈妈māma闻wén到dào焦味jiāowèi， 急忙jímáng跑pǎo到dào厨房chúfáng把bǎ火huǒ关guān了le
Mom smelled something burning and quickly ran to the kitchen to turn off the stove.

他tā因為yīnwèi摔shuāi碎suì了le盤子pánzi， 急忙jímáng對duì著zhe盤子pánzi說shuō“ 歲歲suìsuì平安píngān” 他tā因为yīnwèi摔shuāi碎suì了le盘子pánzi， 急忙jímáng对duì着zhe盘子pánzi说shuō“ 岁岁suìsuì平安píngān”
He accidentally broke a plate, so he hastily said “may you be safe every year” to the plate.

FYI
In Taiwan, breaking objects is often associated with bad luck, particularly in terms of potential financial or personal setbacks. This belief stems from the idea that breaking something may signify a year of “broken luck” or “financial losses.” To counteract this negative implication, people may silently recite or utter auspicious phrases such as 歲歲岁岁平安 suìsuì píngān, which wishes for peace and safety year after year. The phonetic similarity between the word for year 歲岁 suì and the word for “broken” or “shattered” 碎 suì helps reinforce the belief that saying such phrases can help neutralize the perceived negative energy associated with breaking objects.

Practice

TouchHover over the space to see the answers.

✔️ The child fell ill, so the mother hurriedly took him to see the doctor.

孩子háizi病bìng了le， 媽媽māma急忙jímáng帶dài他tā去qù看kàn醫生yīshēng孩子háizi病bìng了le， 妈妈māma急忙jímáng带dài他tā去qù看kàn医生yīshēng

✔️ It’s been too many days since I last wrote a new article, so I hurriedly wrote this one.

我wǒ已經yǐjīng太tài多duō天tiān沒méi寫xiě新xīn文章wénzhāng， 所以suǒyǐ急忙jímáng寫xiě了le這zhè一yì篇piān我wǒ已经yǐjīng太tài多duō天tiān没méi写xiě新xīn文章wénzhāng， 所以suǒyǐ急忙jímáng写xiě了le这zhè一yì篇piān

✔️ My younger brother got a stomachache from eating something bad, so he hurriedly ran to the toilet.

弟弟dìdi吃chī壞huài肚子dùzi了le， 他tā急忙jímáng跑pǎo去qù廁所cèsuǒ弟弟dìdi吃chī坏huài肚子dùzi了le， 他tā急忙jímáng跑pǎo去qù厕所cèsuǒ