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过不去 (guò bu qù) — unable to get through; cannot pass; to make things difficult for someone; to embarrass

Definition

过不去 has two unrelated senses: literally 'cannot get through' (a narrow road, a barrier), and figuratively 'to make things awkward for someone' — stronger and more pointed than the softer 为难.

verb
unable to get throughcannot passto make things difficult for someoneto embarrass

Examples

  • ，过不去。
    Zhè tiáo lù tài zhǎi, qì chē guò bu qù.
    This road is too narrow; the car can't get through.
  • 过不去，。
    Nǐ bié zǒng shì gēn tā guò bu qù, tā qí shí hěn nǔ lì.
    Don't always make things difficult for him; he's actually working hard.
  • ，过不去。
    Zhè jiàn shì wǒ méi zuò hǎo, xīn lǐ yì zhí guò bu qù.
    I didn't do this well, and I've been feeling uneasy about it.

Origin

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.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

去 pairs 大, a man, with 口, a mouth or object. The evidence reads this as a man leaving a place, a man opening his mouth, or a cover over an object.

Open 去 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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