Meet 去 in 去年, 過去, and other useful words. Read the examples and connect each word to its meaning.

The idea

去 has 5 strokes; follow the linked KanjiVG diagram. Learn 去年 (きょねん) and 過去 (かこ) as whole words: a character’s reading depends on the word.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
去年きょねんI went to Hokkaido last year.
過去かこI look at old photos with my family.
去りましたさりましたThe storm passed last night.
立ち去りましたたちさりましたThe people left the venue.

Examples

  • 去年きょねんは北海道ほっかいどうへ行いきました。I went to Hokkaido last year.
  • 過去かこの写真しゃしんを家族かぞくと見みます。I look at old photos with my family.
  • 嵐あらしが昨夜さくや去さりました。The storm passed last night.
  • 人々ひとびとは会場かいじょうから立たち去さりました。The people left the venue.
  • 去年きょねんの夏なつに日本にほんへ行いきました。I went to Japan last summer.
  • 過去かこのことをときどき思おもい出だします。I sometimes remember things from the past.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Here, 去年 means “last year”; 過去 means “the past”. Compare 去年 (きょねん) and 過去 (かこ) in context: “I went to Hokkaido last year.” and “I look at old photos with my family.” The same character does not make the words interchangeable. Compare the shapes of 去 and 法 as well.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 去年 in hiragana.

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    きょねん

    去年 is read きょねん. In context: I went to Hokkaido last year.

  2. Write the reading of 過去 in hiragana.

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    かこ

    過去 is read かこ. In context: I look at old photos with my family.

  3. Write the missing kanji: ＿年 [去 / 法] (きょねん).

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    去

    去 completes 去年, read きょねん. In context: I went to Hokkaido last year.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 去 from memory, then read 去年 and 過去 aloud. Check the readings and contexts.