HSK 3 · Verbs

过去 guòqù “in the past” in Chinese

Traditional 過去

What 过去 means

  1. in the past
  2. formerly
  3. former
  4. previous
  5. to go over
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • to pass by

How to say 过去

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale过guò4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale去qù4th tone, falling

过去 in a sentence

  1. 我们过去常在公园玩。

    Wǒmen guòqù cháng zài gōngyuán wán.

    We used to play in the park.

    Sentence #333434 from Tatoeba

  2. 我们无法改变过去。

    Wǒmen wúfǎ gǎibiàn guòqù.

    We can’t change the past.

    Sentence #3565121 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 过去 can also mean “to go over (there)”

    我马上过去!

    Wǒ mǎshàng guòqu!

    I’ll be right there!

    Sentence #9857884 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 过去 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 过 (guò) with each of its parts in a different colour
过guòto cross
  • 寸inch · cùn
  • 辶walking form of 辵 · chuòMeaning part

辶 hints at the meaning (walking); 咼 () hints at the sound. Compare it with guò.

Memory aidWalking 辶 past: to pass, to cross. In the full form 過, 咼 (guō) gave the sound.

The character 去 (qù) with each of its parts in a different colour
去qùto go
  • 土earth · tǔ
  • 厶private · sī

Memory aidPicture someone leaving the ground 土 behind with a bag 厶: to go.

How to write 过去

过 6 strokes · 去 5 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

过去 (guòqù) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 过去 (guòqù). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 过去

Words with 过

Words with 去

More words: Common Verbs

FAQs

过去 (guòqù) means “in the past” or “formerly”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it guòqù: guò with a 4th tone, then qù with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 过去 is written 過去. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type guoqu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 过去 from the suggestions. Typing guoqu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
过去 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.