Chinese word

过去

Pronunciation

Pinyinguò qù

Meaning

  • adverbin the past

Example

我过去常去那家店。wǒ guò qù cháng qù nà jiā diàn

I often went to that store in the past.

Illustration for 过去 (in the past)

More examples

他过去经常生病。tā guò qù jīng cháng shēng bìng

He often got sick in the past.

Core concept

A stretch of time left behind as the present moves forward.

Common phrases

  • 过去经常guò qù jīng cháng

    often in the past

  • 过去有时候guò qù yǒu shí hòu

    sometimes in the past

  • 过去很少guò qù hén shǎo

    rarely in the past

Similar words

以前yǐ qián: Points to a former time or period when something happened or was true.
曾经céng jīng: Indicates that something has happened before, focusing on the experience of it occurring.

Definition in Chinese

用于指称发生在现在之前的某个时间点或时期，强调与现在的时间先后关系。yòng yú zhǐ chēng fā shēng zài xiàn zài zhī qián de mǒu gè shí jiān diǎn huò shí qī qiáng diào yǔ xiàn zài de shí jiān xiān hòu guān xì

Word origin

过去 (guòqù, "in the past") combines 过 (guò, "pass over") and 去 (qù, "go away"), picturing earlier time as time that has moved beyond the present.

Usage tips

  • 过去 (guòqù, "in the past") can come before the verb to place an action earlier in time, while English often uses a separate time phrase for this job.

Other meanings

  • pastnoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word