Meaning of 经过
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to pass
- to go through
- process
- course
Measure word: 個|个
How to use 经过
As a verb, 经过 means to pass by or through a place, or to go through a process. As a noun, it means the course of events, how something happened. Example: 我每天上班都经过这家咖啡店。 (Wǒ měitiān shàngbān dōu jīngguò zhè jiā kāfēi diàn.) I pass this coffee shop every day on my way to work.
经 (jīng) appears in 已经 (yǐjīng, already) and carries a sense of going through something, and 过 (guò) means to pass. Put them together and you get 经过: to pass through a place or go through an experience.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 经过 and 通过 (tōngguò). 经过 is about passing by or going through something. 通过 is about getting through successfully or by means of something, as in passing an exam (通过考试) or adopting a law. Using 经过 for an exam you passed sounds wrong.
经过 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.
经 jīng · classics · 8 strokes
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- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
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- 8
过 guò · to cross · 6 strokes
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- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 经过.
| 已经 | yǐjīng | already |
| 不过 | bùguò | only; merely |
| 过来 | guòlái | to come over; to manage |
| 过去 | guòqù | (in the) past; former; previous; to go over; to pass by |
| 通过 | tōngguò | to pass through; to get through; to adopt (a resolution); to pass (legislation) |
| 经常 | jīngcháng | frequently; constantly; regularly; often; day-to-day; everyday; daily |
| 超过 | chāoguò | to surpass; to exceed |
| 难过 | nánguò | to feel sad; to feel unwell |
| 见过 | jiànguo | |
| 经理 | jīnglǐ | manager; director |
| 走过 | zǒuguò | to walk past; to pass by |
| 过年 | guònián | to celebrate the Chinese New Year |
Questions about 经过
What does 经过 mean?
经过 (jīngguò) means "to pass; to go through" and is used as a verb and noun.
How do you write 经过?
经过 is made of 2 characters: 经 (8 strokes), 过 (6 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 经过 an HSK word?
Yes. 经过 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 经过 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 经过 is written 經過.
How do I use 经过 to mean 'after' something?
Put 经过 before a process at the start of a sentence, often with 以后 or a result after it. For example, 经过三年的努力，他终于学会了中文。 (Jīngguò sān nián de nǔlì, tā zhōngyú xuéhuì le Zhōngwén.) After three years of hard work, he finally learned Chinese.
How do I ask what happened using 经过?
Use it as a noun meaning the full story of an event. You can say 事情的经过是怎样的？ (Shìqing de jīngguò shì zěnyàng de?) What is the course of events? It asks for the details of how something unfolded, not just the result.