奔 (bēn): to hurry, to rush, to run quickly
奔 (bēn) is a Chinese character meaning “to hurry.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 大 (structural) and 卉 (structural). It ranks #1277 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 奔 a man 大 running through a field of grass 卉. Its radical form 大 (big) appears in many related characters such as 大 (dà, big), 天 (tiān, day), 太 (tài, highest).
Definitions
- to hurry
- to rush
- to run quickly
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA man 大 running through a field of grass 卉
Decomposition: ⿱大卉 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 奔 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 奔
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 私奔verb | sī bēn | to elope |
| 奔驰verb | bēn chí | to run quickly |
| 直奔verb | zhí bèn | to go straight to |
| 奔波verb | bēn bō | to rush about |
| 飞奔verb | fēi bēn | to dash (run fast) |
| 狂奔verb | kuáng bēn | to run like crazy |
| 奔放adjective | bēn fàng | bold and unrestrained |
| 奔走verb | bēn zǒu | to run |
| 投奔verb | tóu bèn | to seek shelter |
| 东奔西跑phrase | dōng bēn xī pǎo | to run this way and that (idiom) |
| 奔流noun | bēn liú | to flow at great speed |
| 奔腾verb | bēn téng | (of waves) to surge forward |
| 奔赴verb | bēn fù | to rush to |
| 各奔东西phrase | gè bèn dōng xī | to go separate ways (idiom) |
| 疲于奔命phrase | pí yú bēn mìng | (idiom) terribly busy |
奔 appears in 46 compound words: 52 as the first character, 22 as the last, and 26 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 奔 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (10)
to be tired and exhausted from constantly running around; to be tired to death with hustling and bustling
thousands of horses galloping, used to describe the magnificence of a scene
to be tired and exhausted from constantly running around; to be tired to death with hustling and bustling
Example Sentences
老师教我们奔字的发音和笔顺。
lǎo shī jiào wǒ men bēn zì de fā yīn hé bǐ shùn .
The teacher taught us the pronunciation and stroke order of the character "奔."
骏马奔腾 楼市蓄势再闯新高
jùn mǎ bēn téng lóu shì xù shì zài chuǎng xīn gāo
The property market is poised to reach new highs
奔驰中国与Momenta深化未来出行领域合...
bēn chí zhōng guó yǔ M o m e n t a shēn huà wèi lái chū háng lǐng yù gě . . .
Mercedes-Benz China and Momenta deepen cooperation in the field of future mobility...
嘉义水上灯区“奔腾”主灯点亮 象征灾后重生希望
jiā yì shuǐ shàng dēng qū bēn téng zhǔ dēng diǎn liàng xiàng zhēng zāi hòu chóng shēng xī wàng
The main light of the "Pentium" in the Chiayi Water Lantern District is lit up to symbolize the hope of rebirth after the disaster
〈台股风向球〉金马开红盘奔向3万4?两大变数酿短压 关注五大族群走...
tái gǔ fēng xiàng qiú jīn mǎ kāi hóng pán bēn xiàng 3 wàn 4 ? liǎng dà biàn shǔ niàng duǎn yā guān zhù wǔ dà zú qún zǒu . . .
〈Taiwan stock wind vane〉 Golden Horse opened the red plate and rushed to 30,000 4? Two major variables brew short-term pressure and pay attention to the five major groups...
万马奔腾启新程!这支复旦“马”字牌拜年天团来送...
wàn mǎ bēn téng qǐ xīn chéng ! zhè zhī fù dàn mǎ zì pái bài nián tiān tuán lái sòng . . .
Ten thousand horses gallop to start a new journey! This Fudan "horse" brand New Year's greeting group is here to deliver...
你不应该在学校大楼里奔跑。
Nǐ bù yīnggāi zài xuéxiào dàlóu lǐ bēnpǎo.
You must not run in the school buildings.
过一个奔放的人生。
Guò yī gè bēnfàng de rénshēng.
Live a riotous life.
为了赶上火车我使出全力奔跑。
Wèile gǎnshàng huǒchē wǒ shǐchū quánlì bēnpǎo.
I ran as fast as I could to catch the train.
四处奔跑的狗找到了骨头。
Sìchù bēnpǎo de gǒu zhǎodào le gǔtou.
The dog that trots about finds a bone.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 奔 (bēn)?
Is 奔 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 奔 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.