经过

• Pinyin: jīng guò
• Hanzi breakdown: 经 (jīng) — to pass through; 过 (guò) — to cross, to pass

Meaning

To pass through; to go by; after (a process). As a verb, means to physically pass a place; as a preposition, introduces a process or period.

Can describe physically passing by a location or going through an experience or period of time. As a noun, can refer to the process or course of events.

Examples

1. 我每天经过这家商店。 I pass by this shop every day.
2. 经过三个月的学习，他的中文好多了。 After three months of study, his Chinese improved a lot.
3. 公共汽车经过我们学校。 The bus passes by our school.

Usage Guide

Context: directions, narration, experience

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 我经过他家门口的时候看到了他。(I saw him when I passed by his house.)
• 经过大家的努力，我们成功了。(Through everyone's efforts, we succeeded.)

Don't Say

• 不要把经过和路过完全等同 (经过 can mean 'through a process' while 路过 only means physically passing by a place)

Origin & History

Compound of 经 (to pass through) and 过 (to cross, to pass). Both characters convey the idea of traversal.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal