去 from HSK Level 1 Vocabulary List

The Chinese character 去 (qù) is composed of two parts: 戈 (gē) and 弋 (yì). 戈 is a pictograph of a weapon, while 弋 is a pictograph of a hand holding a bird. Together, they form the character 去, which originally meant "to go" or "to leave".The character 去 has been used in Chinese for thousands of years, and its meaning has evolved over time. In modern Chinese, 去 can be used as a verb, a noun, or an adjective. As a verb, 去 means "to go", "to leave", or "to depart". As a noun, 去 means "a place to go" or "a destination". As an adjective, 去 means "former" or "past".The character 去 is also used in many Chinese idioms and proverbs. For example, the idiom 一去不复返 (yī qù bù fù fǎn) means "to go and never return", while the proverb 近朱者赤, 近墨者黑 (jìn zhū zhě chì, jìn mò zhě hēi) means "those who are close to red become red, those who are close to black become black".The character 去 is a versatile and important character in Chinese. It is used in a wide variety of contexts, and its meaning can vary depending on the context in which it is used.