Chinese word

赶不上

Pronunciation

Pinyingǎn bù shàng

Meaning

  • verbmiss

Example

我怕 赶不上 火车。wǒ pà gǎn bú shàng huǒ chē

I am afraid I will miss the train.

Illustration for 赶不上 (miss)

More examples

因为早上堵车，他担心会 赶不上 航班。yīn wèi zǎo shàng dǔ chē tā dān xīn huì gǎn bú shàng háng bān

Because of the traffic jam this morning, he is worried he may miss the flight.

Core concept

Effort continues toward a destination or level, but the required point is not reached in time.

Common phrases

  • 赶不上航班gǎn bú shàng háng bān

    miss the flight

  • 赶不上节奏gǎn bú shàng jié zòu

    not keep up with the rhythm

  • 赶不上潮流gǎn bú shàng cháo liú

    not keep up with the trend

Similar words

来不及lái bù jí: Not having enough time to do something or meet a planned time.
迟到chí dào: Arriving after the set time for a meeting, appointment, or event.
跟不上gēn bú shàng: Falling behind a person's or group's pace and failing to keep up.
错过cuò guò: Failing to catch a vehicle or use an opportunity because the right time has passed.

Definition in Chinese

来不及赶到或追不上别人的动作或进度，表示无法达到预期的时间或速度。lái bù jí gǎn dào huò zhuī bú shàng bié rén de dòng zuò huò jìn dù biǎo shì wú fǎ dá dào yù qī de shí jiān huò sù dù

Word origin

赶不上 (gǎnbùshàng, "fail to catch up or arrive in time") combines 赶 (gǎn, "hurry or chase"), 不 (bù, "not"), and 上 (shàng, "reach"), so the needed result is not attained.

Usage tips

  • English often separates arriving too late from falling behind a pace, while this everyday Chinese verb can express both situations with the same form.

Other meanings

  • not catch upverb
  • not keep upverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word