ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY

to go

5 strokes · 土-like top (a person departing) + 厶 (private/enclosure below) · HSK 1

Where 去 comes from

Oracle 去 showed a person stepping away from a dwelling's mouth — departure drawn as body leaving shelter. Everything about 去 moves away from here: the opposite pole of 来 'come', the pair that orients all Chinese motion.

去 in Chinese culture

去 is the engine of plans: 去哪儿?'where are you going?' — the question that named a travel app empire. Last year is 去年, 'the year that went'. 去世 'leave the world' is the gentle word for dying — departure, not ending.

Example

去年 qùnián — last year

我们去公园吧。
Wǒmen qù gōngyuán ba.
Let's go to the park.

How to remember it

A person stepping out of the doorway — GOING.

来来去去 'coming and going' describes bustle; 去去就来 'just going, right back' is the promise every waiter makes.

Same sound, different tones

1st qū
district
2nd qú
canal
3rd qǔ
to take
4th qù
to go

Words unlocked by 去

去年 qùnián
last year
出去 chūqù
to go out
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