急需
jí xū · HSK 7
to urgently need
🚨 急 (urgent) + 需 (need) = urgently need; the two characters just stack their meanings
急 means urgent/anxious and 需 means to need or require, so 急需 literally reads urgent-need. Sound hook: jí xū rhymes loosely with the rushed sigh you let out when something cannot wait.
急 — heart radical 心 + 及 (reach)
A semantic-phonetic compound: the heart radical 心 supplies the meaning (an emotional state) while 及 ('to reach, catch up') gives the sound. Originally it depicted a racing, anxious heart — hence the modern senses 'urgent,' 'hurried,' and 'impatient.'
需 — rain 雨 + and 而
Originally a pictograph showing a person standing in the rain, meaning 'to wait' for the rain to stop. The bottom component 而 (originally depicting a beard or a standing figure) was later reanalyzed phonetically. The meaning shifted from 'wait' to 'need' or 'require,' while the older 'wait' sense was taken over by 須.