当务之急
dāng wù zhī jí
the most pressing matter; the first priority
Character by character
当dāng
present
present
务wù
task
task
之zhī
’s
’s
急jí
urgency
urgency
Example
暴雨过后，当务之急是把被困的居民转移出来。
After the storm, the first priority is to get the trapped residents out.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
You met it as a word in lesson 3-20. From Mencius: 知者无不知也，当务之为急 (the wise know everything, but put first what is most pressing now). Used as 当务之急是… or …成了当务之急. It already means “the most urgent”, so do not add 最 (✗最当务之急).
Learn this in Lesson 159 · HSK 7–9: 伍连德与1910年鼠疫 (Wu Lien-teh and the plague of 1910)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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