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过去 (guò qù) — the past; former times

Definition

As a noun, 过去 means 'the past / former times.' 比 the more literary 以往 it is everyday and neutral; the homograph 过去 (verb, 'to go over') uses the same pinyin with different grammar.

noun
the pastformer times

Examples

  • 过去。
    guò qù De shì qing bié zài xiǎng le.
    Don't think about past things anymore.
  • 过去。
    Xiàn zài bǐ guò qù hǎo duō le.
    Now is much better than the past.
  • 过去。
    Tā guò qù shì wǒ de tóng xué.
    He was my classmate in the past.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

过guòpass
去qùgo

过 (pass) and 去 (go) combine to mean what has gone by, i.e. former times.

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 →

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 →
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