度过 (dù guò) — to spend (a period of time); to get through, to survive (a difficult period)

Definition

度过 means 'to spend / get through' a stretch of time (a holiday, a year, a crisis). It focuses on living through the period, not on how you spend it — pair with 度过 + time phrase, not with an activity object.

verb
to spend (a period of time)to get throughto survive (a difficult period)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 度过。
    Tā zài guó wài dù guò le èr shí nián.
    He spent twenty years abroad.
  • 度过。
    Zhè ge jià qī wǒ men dǎ suàn zài hǎi biān dù guò.
    We plan to spend this holiday by the seaside.
  • ，度过。
    Zài dà jiā de bāng zhù xià, tā jiān nán dì dù guò le zhè cì wēi jī.
    With everyone's help, he barely got through this crisis.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

度dùspend
过guòthrough

“度” spend plus “过” through gives spending through a period.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
又又yòuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
石
石shí度dù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

度 has 又 (hand) and a changed form of 石; 石 gives a related sound, and the hand is tied to using the hand as a reference for measurement.

Open 度 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →
Appears in
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