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去qùto go

HSK 1word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

去 (qù) means "to go" or "to go to" a place. Put it directly before the place with no extra word for "to": 去学校 means "go to school." It can also come before a verb for "go to do" something, as in 去工作. It contrasts with 来 for direction toward the speaker.

What does 去 mean?

  1. 1.

    to goverb

  2. 2.

    to go to (a place)verb

What does the character 去 mean?

  • 去to go

How do you use 去?

Grammar patterns

  1. 1

    Subj. + 去 + Place

    Use 去 before a place with no word for "to." The speaker is not at that place now.

  2. 2

    Subj. + 去 + Verb

    Use 去 before a verb to mean "go to do" or "go and do" that action.

去 marks movement away from the speaker; do not add English-style "to" before the place name.

Patterns

  • 去 + Place

    下午我去公司。

    Xiàwǔ wǒ qù gōngsī.

    In the afternoon I'm going to the office.

  • 去 + Verb

    他去上课。

    Tā qù shàngkè.

    He's going to class.

What are some examples of 去 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    我去学校。

    Wǒ qù xuéxiào.

    I'm going to school.

  2. HSK 1

    你去超市吗？

    Nǐ qù chāoshì ma?

    Are you going to the supermarket?

  3. HSK 1

    他去工作。

    Tā qù gōngzuò.

    He's going to work.

  4. HSK 1

    我们去饭店吧。

    Wǒmen qù fàndiàn ba.

    Let's go to a restaurant.

How is 去 different from 来?

去 marks movement away from the speaker. 来 marks movement toward the speaker or a place the speaker is already at. If you are not at the supermarket, say 我去超市, not 我来超市.

Only 去 fits here

我去超市。

Wǒ qù chāoshì.

I'm going to the supermarket.

How is 去 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    你去哪儿？

    Nǐ qù nǎr?

    Where are you going?

  2. Speaker B:

    我去学校。

    Wǒ qù xuéxiào.

    I'm going to school.

  3. Speaker A:

    下午你去超市吗？

    Xiàwǔ nǐ qù chāoshì ma?

    Are you going to the supermarket this afternoon?

  4. Speaker B:

    去，我下午去。

    Qù, wǒ xiàwǔ qù.

    Yes, I'm going this afternoon.

  5. Speaker A:

    晚上我们去饭店吧。

    Wǎnshang wǒmen qù fàndiàn ba.

    Let's go to a restaurant tonight.

  6. Speaker B:

    好，我们去。

    Hǎo, wǒmen qù.

    Okay, let's go.

Can you use 去 correctly?

0 of 3 answered
  1. 1.Fill in the blank: 我___学校。
  2. 2.Which sentence needs no English-style "to"?
  3. 3.Fill in the blank: 他___工作。

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.