过程

• Pinyin: guò chéng
• Hanzi breakdown: 过 = 辶 (movement) + 寸 (inch) — to pass by; 程 = 禾 (grain) + 呈 (present) — a course or distance

Meaning

Process; course; procedure. The series of steps or stages involved in doing something.

Refers to the progression or sequence of events from start to finish. Common collocations: 学习过程 (learning process), 发展过程 (development process), 在...的过程中 (in the process of...). Emphasises the journey rather than the result.

Examples

1. 学习语言是一个漫长的过程。 Learning a language is a long process.
2. 在成长的过程中，我学到了很多。 In the process of growing up, I learned a lot.
3. 老师详细地讲解了实验的整个过程。 The teacher explained the entire procedure of the experiment in detail.

Usage Guide

Context: study, work, science

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 享受过程比结果更重要。(Enjoying the process is more important than the result.)
• 请描述一下事情的过程。(Please describe the course of events.)

Don't Say

• 这个过程花了三个过程。(Don't repeat 过程 as a measure word — use 步骤 for steps. Say 这个过程花了三个步骤.)

Origin & History

Compound of 过 (to pass through/go across) and 程 (journey/course). Together they describe the course of passing through stages — a process.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal