去
qù
The English phrase 'go' is translated into Chinese as 去 (qù).
去 is a verb meaning to move through space, specifically from one place to another. When you want to express the destination, you place the place name directly after the verb, such as 去学校 (go to school), rather than using a separate preposition for 'to'.
Meaning: to move through space (especially from one place to another) (verb)
Which one should you use?
Use 去 when the movement is away from the speaker's current location. In contrast, use 来 when the movement is toward the speaker's current location.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
You can modify 去 to change its tense or intent. Adding the particle 了 after 去 (as in 去了) indicates the completion of the action, often translated as 'went'. Placing the verb 要 before 去 (as in 要去) expresses an intention to go or a future requirement to go, often translated as 'want to go' or 'will go'.
How do you pronounce it?
qù
Did you know?
- An alternative ancient interpretation of the character 去 suggests it was an ideograph for an anus, representing the act of getting rid of waste.
- The character 去 is an ideogram that may have originally depicted a person departing from a cave or a city.
Examples in context
- 她特别想去。She so wants to go.This sentence shows how to express a strong desire to go using 去.Tatoeba #2052497 by sadhen, translation #311774 by CM
- 我想去学校。I want to go to school.This sentence demonstrates how to express a destination directly after 去 without a preposition.Tatoeba #2782523 by GlossaMatik, translation #2714993 by CK
- 爸爸去哪了?Where did dad go?This sentence shows how to ask about the direction of someone's movement using 去.Tatoeba #3147854 by cienias, translation #318877 by minshirui
- 我明天要前往北京I will go to Beijing tomorrow.
- 我得离开了I have to go now.
- 我们明天早上出发去长城We will depart for the Great Wall tomorrow morning.
- 你想去哪里？Where do you want to go?
- 我们一起出去吧Let's go out together.
- 1110 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are planning their afternoon in a shopping mall.
- 浩然 Haoran雨婷，你想去电影院吗？Yǔtíng, nǐ xiǎng qù diànyǐngyuàn ma?Yuting, do you want to go to the cinema?
- 雨婷 Yuting不去，我想去买书。Bù qù, wǒ xiǎng qù mǎi shū.No, I want to go buy books.
- 浩然 Haoran那我们一起去书店吧。Nà wǒmen yìqǐ qù shūdiàn ba.Then let's go to the bookstore together.
- 雨婷 Yuting好啊，浩然，我们走吧。Hǎo a, Hàorán, wǒmen zǒu ba.Okay, Haoran, let's go.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “go” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 去, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
