Meaning of 去年
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- last year
How to use 去年
去年 is a time word and usually goes at the start of the sentence or right after the subject, before the verb. It often appears with 了 (le) because the action is finished. Example: 我去年去了北京。(Wǒ qùnián qù le Běijīng.) I went to Beijing last year.
去 (qù) means to go, and 年 (nián) means year, so 去年 is the year that has already gone. Picture the year walking away from you.
Common mistake: Learners often put 去年 at the end of the sentence like English, saying 我去了北京去年. In Chinese the time word must come before the verb: 我去年去了北京.
去年 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
去 qù · to go · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
年 nián · year · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 去年.
| 出去 | chūqù | to go out |
| 回去 | huíqù | to return; to go back |
| 进去 | jìnqù | to go in |
| 今年 | jīnnián | this year |
| 明年 | míngnián | next year |
| 半年 | bàn nián | half a year |
| 新年 | xīnnián | New Year |
| 过去 | guòqù | (in the) past; former; previous; to go over; to pass by |
| 年轻 | niánqīng | young |
| 少年 | shàonián | early youth; youngster |
| 青年 | qīngnián | youth; youthful years |
| 青少年 | qīng-shàonián | adolescent; youth |
Questions about 去年
What does 去年 mean?
去年 (qùnián) means "last year" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 去年?
去年 is made of 2 characters: 去 (5 strokes), 年 (6 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 去年 an HSK word?
Yes. 去年 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say the year before last in Chinese?
Use 前年 (qiánnián) for the year before last. The full sequence is 前年, 去年, 今年 (jīnnián), 明年 (míngnián), 后年 (hòunián).
Why is it not 上年 like 上个月 for last month?
For months and weeks Chinese uses 上 (shàng), as in 上个月 and 上个星期. For years the standard word is 去年. 上年 exists in formal or financial writing but is not used in everyday speech.