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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

過

guò
to cross; to pass; to go across; to pass through
  • Phono-semantic compound 形聲
  • HSK 1
  • TOCFL 1
  • radical 辵
  • 13 strokes
  • 𬨨

Etymology graph

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  • borrowed
  • derived
  • parts
  • meaning component
  • sound component
  • related
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Origin

The character 過 is a phono-semantic compound. It combines the semantic component 辵, meaning "to walk for a while and be still for a while," with the phonetic component 咼, meaning "slanting." The component 辵 is composed of 彳 ("to walk slowly") and 止 ("foot"), while 咼 consists of 口 ("mouth") and 冎 ("bone"). According to the Shuowen Jiezī, the character means "to pass" (度也) and follows the 辵 component for meaning and 咼 for sound.

It is inherited from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m/s-ka-j, meaning "to go, to stride." This root is related to 跨 ("to pass over") and 騎 ("to ride"). The character is used to express the process of experiencing, crossing, or moving from one point to another, as well as exceeding a limit, being excessive, or enduring and receiving. Its earliest attested forms appear in bronze, chu, qin, seal, and regular scripts.

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

「過」字在字形上屬於形聲字。其意符「辵」象徵走走停停的動作，其中包含「彳」與「止」兩個部分；聲符「咼」則由「口」與「冎」組成。根據《說文解字》，此字的意思是「度」。在現代用法中，它可以用來表示經歷、跨越、從甲地到乙地的過程，或是超越某種界限、範圍，亦有太、甚、忍受或領受之意。

從語言演變的角度來看，「過」繼承自原始漢藏語的 *m/s-ka-j（意為「去、跨步」）。它與「跨」（跨越）以及「騎」（騎乘）在語源上有關聯。此字在青銅器、楚系文字、秦系文字、篆書及楷書等古文字形態中皆有記載。目前已知其上古音重建為 *kloːl 或 *kloːls。

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • inheritedProto-Sino-Tibetan*m/s-ka-j “to go, to stride”
  • meaningChinese辵 “to walk for a while and be still for a while”
    • ideaChinese彳 “to walk slowly”
    • ideaChinese止 “foot”
  • soundChinese咼 “slanting”
    • soundChinese冎 “bone”
    • meaningChinese口 “mouth, especially the lips and internal mouth cavity (Classifier: 把 c)”

Words built on it: 不過, 過去, 通過

Wiktionary etymology text

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *kloːl, *kloːls): semantic 辵 (“walk”) + phonetic 咼 (OC *kʰʷroːl).

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m/s-ka-j (“to go, to stride”) (STEDT). Related to 跨 (OC *kʰʷraː, *kʰʷraːʔ, *kʰʷraːs, *kʰʷaːs, “to pass over”) and 騎 (OC *ɡral, *ɡrals, “to ride”).

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Meanings

character
  1. to cross; to pass; to go across; to pass through
  2. to pass by; to pass
  3. to spend time; to live
  4. to transfer; to move to
  5. to cause to go through
  6. to go over; to look at carefully; to go through

Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字

過：度也。从辵咼聲。

Xu Shen, c. 100 CE — the first analytical dictionary of Chinese characters.

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 表示經歷、跨越、由甲至乙的過程。 例：路過、過年、過客
  2. 超越某種界限或範圍。 例：過量、過度、過期
  3. 太、甚。 例：過多、過謙
  4. 忍受、領受。 例：難過、心裡不好過
  5. 錯誤。 例：過錯、知過能改、勇於改過
  6. 轉移。 例：過戶、過帳

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

How 過 was written 字形演變

  1. 過 in Bronze script
    Bronze
    金文
    Shang–Zhou
  2. 過 in Chu slips & silk script
    Chu slips & silk
    楚系簡帛
    Warring States
  3. 過 in Qin slips script
    Qin slips
    秦系簡牘
    Qin
  4. 過 in Small seal script
    Small seal
    說文小篆
    Shuowen, c. 100 CE
  5. 過 in Regular script
    Regular
    楷書
    since c. 200 CE

Historical forms collected by the legacy etymfun dataset; most characters have several attested variants.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • Historical glyph forms (zdic.net 字形演变) — Rights unverified
  • HSK / TOCFL word lists — Facts (levels)
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • 說文解字 Shuowen Jiezi (Xu Shen, c. 100 CE) — Public domain
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Wiktionary: 過