How to Write 驰 (chí) — Meaning “To gallop; to speed”

Picture a horse (马) that is "also" (也) running very fast. You can imagine a horse saying "I also want to gallop!" to remember the shape and meaning of speeding.

Write the radical 马 first with three strokes, keeping it narrow. The right part 也 starts with a horizontal hook, then a vertical stroke, and finally a curved stroke extending to the right. A common mistake is making the right side too wide or forgetting the hook on the first stroke of 也.

驰 means "to gallop or speed," while 驭 (yù) means "to drive or control a horse" and 驮 (tuó) means "to carry on the back." Visually, 驰 has 马 plus 也; 驭 has 马 plus 又; 驮 has 马 plus 大. In usage, 称 is for fast movement, 驭 for commanding, and 驮 for transporting loads.

驰 appears in common words like 奔驰 (bēn chí, "to run quickly" or the car brand Mercedes-Benz) and 驰名 (chí míng, "famous"). Culturally, 奔驰 is a well-known luxury car brand in China, so this character is easily recognized in advertising and everyday conversation about speed or renown.

Common words containing 驰 include: 奔驰 (bēn chí) — to run quickly; Mercedes-Benz; 飞驰 (fēi chí) — to speed; 驰名 (chí míng) — Famous; well-known.