速 (sù): fast, speed
速 (sù) is a Chinese character meaning “fast, speed.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 辶 (semantic) and 束 (phonetic). It ranks #617 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 速 walk. Its radical form 辶 (walk) appears in many related characters such as 边 (biān, side), 过 (guò, to pass, past), 还 (hái, still, return).
Definitions
- fast, speed
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 速 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 速
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 速度noun | sù dù | speed | 4 |
| 快速adjective | kuài sù | fast | 4 |
| 迅速adjective | xùn sù | rapid | 5 |
| 加速verb | jiā sù | to accelerate | 5 |
| 高速adjective | gāo sù | high speed | 4 |
| 时速noun | shí sù | speed per hour | 6 |
| 超速verb | chāo sù | to exceed the speed limit | 5 |
| 飞速adverb | fēi sù | swift | 6 |
| 车速noun | chē sù | vehicle speed | 4 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 减速verb | jiǎn sù | to reduce speed |
| 高速公路 | gāo sù gōng lù | expressway |
| 光速noun | guāng sù | the speed of light |
| 高速路 | gāo sù lù | highway |
| 全速noun | quán sù | top speed |
| 急速adverb | jí sù | hurried |
| 速决verb | sù jué | quick decision |
| 不速之客phrase | bù sù zhī kè | (idiom) uninvited or unexpected guest |
| 风速noun | fēng sù | wind speed |
| 加速器noun | jiā sù qì | accelerator (computing) |
| 神速adjective | shén sù | lightning speed |
| 限速noun | xiàn sù | speed limit |
| 音速noun | yīn sù | speed of sound |
| 速冻verb | sù dòng | to quick-freeze |
| 速率noun | sù lǜ | speed |
速 appears in 102 compound words: 28 as the first character, 48 as the last, and 24 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 速 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
Sima Xiangru is meticulous and Mei Gao is fast (idiom); to each his good points
to take prompt action to achieve a quick victory; to adopt a blitzkrieg strategy
Example Sentences
高速公路上车速很快，要注意安全驾驶。
Gāosù gōnglù shang chē sù hěn kuài, yào zhùyì ānquán jiàshǐ.
Vehicles travel very fast on the highway; safe driving is required.
冬奥会|全天综合:中国速滑再迎突破 中井亚美领跑花..
dōng ào huì quán tiān zèng gě zhōng guó sù huá zài yíng tū pò zhōng jǐng yà měi lǐng pǎo huā . .
Winter Olympics|All Day Roundup: China's speed skating breaks through again, and Ami Nakai leads the way in flower...
...体:春晚人形机器人表演展现中国人工智能飞速发..
. . . tī chūn wǎn rén xíng jī qì rén biǎo yǎn zhǎn xiàn zhōng guó rén gōng zhì néng fēi sù fā . .
... Body:Spring Festival Gala Humanoid Robot Performance Shows China's Artificial Intelligence Rapidly Developing...
川AG大军注意!雅西高速成都往西昌方向多路段车多缓..
chuān dà jūn zhù yì ! yǎ xī gāo sù chéng dū wǎng xī chāng fāng xiàng duō lù duàn chē duō huǎn . .
Sichuan AG army attention! Yaxi Expressway, Chengdu to Xichang direction of many sections of the traffic slow ...
一杯热水赠归人 一句感谢显温情 环兰高速人:点滴之..
yī bēi rè shuǐ zèng guī rén yī gōu gǎn xiè xiǎn wēn qíng huán lán gāo sù rén diǎn dī zhī . .
A cup of hot water for the returnees A word of thanks for the warmth of the Huanlan Expressway people: a little bit of...
2026年世界知识产权报告:创新传播速度达历史新高
nián shì jiè zhī shí chǎn quán bào gào chuàng xīn chuán bō sù dù dá lì shǐ xīn gāo
2026 World Intellectual Property Report: Innovation Dissemination Reaches Historic High
怎么用路由器限制网速？
Zěnme yòng lùyóuqì xiànzhì wǎng sù?
How can a router be used to limit network speed?
哇，她真是神速啊，真让我印象深刻！
Wā, tā zhēnshi shénsù ā, zhēn ràng wǒ yìnxiàng shēnkè!
Wow, she’s got a lot of pace, I’m impressed!
小偷迅速地窜入了人群。
Xiǎotōu xùnsù de cuàn rù le rénqún.
The thief whipped out into the crowd.
我被他英语的快速进步惊呆了。
Wǒ bèi tā Yīngyǔ de kuàisù jìnbù jīngdāi le.
I'm amazed at his rapid progress in English.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 辶 (walk) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 速 (sù) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 速 and 慢?
How many strokes does 速 have?
What is the radical of 速?
What are the components of 速?
What are common words containing 速?
What characters sound the same as 速 (sù)?
Is 速 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 速 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.