urgent, hurry, rapid
On'yomi (音読み)
- キュウ
- ク
Kun'yomi (訓読み)
- いそ.ぐ
About this kanji
The kanji 急 means urgent, hurry, or rapid. It can be used as both a noun and a verb, with the verb form いそ.ぐ meaning "to hurry." Common compounds include 急行 (きゅうこう), which refers to an express train that moves quickly, and 急に (きゅうに), meaning suddenly or unexpectedly. Another interesting phrase is 急がば回れ (いそがばまわれ), which translates to "more haste, less speed"—a reminder that rushing can lead to mistakes. This kanji is useful in everyday life, especially when time is of the essence or when you want to express something happening unexpectedly.
Built from
Example sentences
急いで学校に行きます。
I go to school in a hurry.
Meanings across languages
- English
- urgent, hurry, rapid
- Tiếng Việt
- gấp, khẩn cấp, vội vàng
- 日本語
- 急ぎ, 急な, 急ぐ
- 한국어
- 긴급한
- 中文
- 紧急
- id
- mendesak
- th
- เร่งด่วน
- es
- urgente
- fr
- urgent
- de
- dringend
- pt
- urgente
Common compounds
- 急行きゅうこうexpress (train)
- 急にきゅうにsuddenly
- 急がば回れいそがばまわれmore haste, less speed
Want to actually learn this kanji?
The dictionary is one view. The Kanji 360 app wraps every character with mnemonic images, audio readings, stroke-order animation, story context, and SRS scheduling — free to start on iPhone, iPad, and Android.