How to use 经过
经过 + Event / Time ，⋯⋯
As a movement verb, 经过 means passing through or passing by a place. The place follows the verb, and the sentence can describe a route taken once or regularly. This use focuses on being along the route, rather than naming the final destination. It can also appear inside a time clause describing when someone passes.
Before a process, effort, or period of activity, 经过 introduces what someone went through before reaching a result. The later clause explains the outcome of that preparation, investigation, or development. This use is especially natural when the intervening experience matters. Distinguish it from 通过, which often foregrounds the method or channel used to achieve something.
Examples with pinyin and English
我每天上班都经过这里。
I pass by this place every day on the way to work.
我坐火车回老家常常经过这个城市。
I usually pass by this city when I take the train back to my hometown.
你经过我家门口的时候叫我一下。
Call me when you pass by my door.
她经过这个咖啡店的时候就会想到他。
She thinks about him when she walks past this cafe.
What to remember
- A place after 经过 names a point on a route.
- A process after 经过 frames an ensuing outcome.
- 经过 often emphasizes experience or progression.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
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