Fluentide
Fluentide for iOS is out — get the app
HSK 3

着急

to be anxious; worried; in a hurry

adjectiveneutral1 episode
着
zháo2nd tone
急
jí2nd tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
zháojí
Part of speech
adjective
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
20
Register
neutral
In episodes
1

Stroke order for 着急

着急 is written with 20 strokes (着: 11, 急: 9). The animation replays automatically.

What does 着急 mean?

着急 (zháojí) describes the feeling of being anxious, worried, or in a hurry — the mental state when time is short, a problem looms, or a loved one is late.

Literally 'catch / be hit by + urgency,' the word covers both 'antsy hurry' and 'worried concern.' Common patterns: 别着急 ('don't worry / don't rush') is the standard reassurance you say to someone stressed; 我很着急 ('I'm really anxious'); 着急回家 ('anxious to get home'). The first character is read zháo here (not zhe or zhuó), one of the trickier multi-pronunciation characters in HSK 3.

Don't confuse 着急 with 担心 (dānxīn, 'to worry about something specific'): 着急 is the inner-feeling state, often mixed with time pressure; 担心 is worry directed at a person or outcome. Native speakers also use 着急 idiomatically to mean 'in a rush' for action — 不着急 ('no rush / take your time') is a common polite response.

Character by character

着zháoto catch; to be hit by (a feeling/state)
+
急jíurgent; anxious; hurried
=
着急

Memory hook: 'Caught by urgency' — when urgency catches up with you, you feel 着急.

Hear 着急 in real episodes

着急 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.

Two Pygmy Goats Boarded a Portland City Bus. Some Passengers Never Looked Up From Their Phones.着急 spoken at natural speedmedium
Browse the full episode library

Example sentences

别着急，我们还有时间。

Bié zháojí, wǒmen hái yǒu shíjiān.

Don't worry, we still have time.

spoken

妈妈很着急，因为我回家晚了。

Māma hěn zháojí, yīnwèi wǒ huí jiā wǎn le.

Mom got very worried because I came home late.

spoken

我着急去机场。

Wǒ zháojí qù jīchǎng.

I'm in a hurry to get to the airport.

spoken

不着急，慢慢说。

Bù zháojí, mànman shuō.

No rush, take your time and speak slowly.

spoken

他一着急就说不出话来。

Tā yì zháojí jiù shuō bu chū huà lái.

As soon as he gets anxious, he can't get words out.

neutral

Common phrases with 着急

别着急bié zháojídon't worry; don't rush
不着急bù zháojíno rush; not in a hurry
很着急hěn zháojívery anxious; very worried
着急回家zháojí huí jiāanxious to get home
着什么急zháo shénme jíwhat's the rush?

Synonyms

担心dānxīn

担心 is 'to worry about (something or someone)' — takes an object. 我担心你 ('I'm worried about you'). 着急 is the inner anxious / rushed feeling, often without a specific target. 担心他生病 ('worry he's sick') vs 着急他还没回来 ('anxious because he's not back yet').

紧张jǐnzhāng

紧张 is 'nervous / tense' — usually about performance or pressure (考试紧张 'nervous about the exam'). 着急 is more about time pressure or unresolved situations.

Don't confuse 着急 with

急jí

急 alone is the adjective 'urgent / quick-tempered' (急事 'urgent matter,' 他很急 'he's hot-tempered / impatient'). 着急 specifically describes the feeling state of anxious urgency.

着zhe / zháo / zhuó

着 has three readings. In 着急 it's zháo. As a particle (looking at, doing) it's zhe (看着 'looking'). 着 in 着装 ('attire') is zhuó. Three different jobs; learn 着急 as a fixed unit.

害怕hàipà

害怕 is 'afraid / scared' — fear of something. 着急 is anxious urgency, not fear. A kid is 害怕 of the dark; a parent is 着急 when the kid is late.

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

报警to call the police宠物pet低头to lower the head发现to notice赶紧hurriedly摄像头camera (CCTV)视频video司机driver台阶step蹄子hoof一辈子a lifetime

Acquire it by listening

Meet 着急 again — in real Chinese, at your level.

You just saw 着急 in 1 episode. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.