Chinese Character Gan

The surrounding word supplies the exact reading. 赶上 means make it in time; 赶紧 means hurry; 赶走 means drive away. Pursuit, urgency, and expulsion share one movement core.

The old Shuowen tradition glosses an early 赶 as an animal running with its tail raised, and notes that entry was added later. For everyday reading, the 赶 vs 趕 distinction is script: 趕 is the traditional form, while 赶 is its simplified or variant form, widening from pursuit into rushing, seizing a chance, meeting, and waiting until a time.