去 (qù) is a Chinese character meaning “to go”. It is written from 土 (earth; soil) and 厶 (private component), one above the other, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “to go; to leave”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
土 + 厶
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：土 3 画 + 厶 2 画 = 5 画）
Memory aid
Ground (土) on top, and a small curl (厶) turning away underneath it — you leave the ground you were standing on and go.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 去年qù niánlast year去 = qùHSK 1
- 出去chū qùto go out去 = qùHSK 1
- 失去shī qùto lose; to be deprived of去 = qù
- 抹去mǒ qùto wipe away; to erase去 = qù
Go deeper
All readings
to go; to leave
to go; to go to; to leave; to remove; past (of time)
离开所在的地方，到别处；从这里到那里。也指已经过去的（时间）。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 去年qù niánlast year去 = qùHSK 1
- 出去chū qùto go out去 = qùHSK 1
- 失去shī qùto lose; to be deprived of去 = qù
- 抹去mǒ qùto wipe away; to erase去 = qù
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 去 mean?
去 (qù) means to go; to go to; to leave; to remove; past (of time).
How do you pronounce 去?
It is pronounced qù.
What parts is 去 made of?
土 (earth; soil) and 厶 (private component), one above the other. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：土 3 画 + 厶 2 画 = 5 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 去 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 去?
厶. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 去?
Common ones are 去年 and 出去. The reading of 去 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.