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過去 (かこ, kako) Japanese meaning: the past | Kotomora

過か去こ

か

こ

Common word›JLPTN3›Freq.FrequencyTop 1,000

Meanings

1

noun, adverb, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

the past; bygone days

General term for time before the present. Can be used as a noun, adverbially, or with の to modify nouns.

過か去このこと

は

忘わす

れよう

。

Let's forget about the past.

過か去こに一いち度どだけ富ふ士じ山さんに登のぼったことがある。

I have climbed Mt. Fuji only once in the past.

2

one's past (that one would prefer remained secret)

Often used when referring to a personal history one wants to hide, such as a criminal record or embarrassing episode.

彼かれには暗くらい過か去こがあるらしい。
He seems to have a dark past.

3

past tense; preterite

Grammar term. Used in linguistic contexts.

英えい語ごの過か去こ形けいは「過か去こ」とも呼よばれる。
The English past tense is also called 'kako'.

4

previous life (Buddhism)

Buddhist term referring to a former existence.

仏ぶっ教きょうでは、過か去この因いん縁ねんが現げん在ざいに影えい響きょうすると説とかれる。
In Buddhism, it is taught that karma from previous lives affects the present.

Usage patterns

過か去こを振ふり返かえるto look back on the past
たまには過か去こを振ふり返かえるのもいいものだ。
It's nice to look back on the past once in a while.
〈人ひと〉に過か去こがあるsomeone has a (secret/troubled) past
彼かれには誰だれにも言いえない過か去こがある。
He has a past he can't tell anyone about.
過か去こにさかのぼるto go back in time to the past
この話はなしは十じゅう年ねん前まえの過か去こにさかのぼる。
This story goes back ten years into the past.
〈動どう詞し〉を過か去こ形けいにするto put a verb into the past tense
この動どう詞しを過か去こ形けいにしてください。
Please put this verb into the past tense.
過か去こを消けすto erase / wipe out one's past
彼かれは自じ分ぶんの過か去こを消けしたいと思おもっていた。
He wanted to erase his past.

Expressions

暗くらい過か去こshadowy past; murky past; dark history
過か去この遺い産さんlegacy of the past
過か去こは過か去こthe past is the past; let bygones be bygones
過か去このものになるbecome a thing of the past

Kanji

過overdo, exceed, go beyond
去gone, past, quit

Related words

昔むかしN4sense 1
昔 is a casual, nostalgic word for 'long ago', while 過去 is the neutral, analytical term for 'the past'.
以い前ぜんN3sense 1
以前 means 'before (a certain point)' and is used comparatively, whereas 過去 refers to the past as a whole period.
旧きゅう事じN1
過去 is the general, everyday word for 'the past', while 旧事 is a literary term for specific past events or matters.
歴れき史しN4
過去 means 'the past' in a general temporal sense, while 歴史 implies a recorded or studied past, such as a discipline or chronicle.
往おう年ねん
過去 is a neutral, factual term for 'the past' in general, whereas 往年 evokes a specific bygone era with emotional or evaluative color.

Opposites

未み来らいN3sense 1
未来 means 'the future', the direct opposite of 過去 ('the past').
現げん在ざいN3sense 1
現在 means 'the present', standing between 過去 ('the past') and 未来 ('the future').
先さき々ざき
過去 means 'the past', the direct opposite of 先々's sense of 'the future that lies ahead'.

Don't confuse with

経けい歴れきN1sense 2
経歴 refers to one's career or personal history recorded factually, while 過去 (sense of a hidden past) implies something one wants to keep secret.
過すぎN1
過去 is the noun for 'the past' as a period of time, while 過ぎ is a suffix meaning 'just after' a specific point like an hour (五時過ぎ), not the past in general.

Word family· 28

半はん過か去こ
imperfect tense
大だい過か去こ
past perfect tense; pluperfect
近きん過か去こ
recent past tense; present perfect · recent past
過か去こ一いち
most ... ever; most ... up to now; more ... than ever before

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 過去 (kwaH khuX, literally 'pass' + 'go'). The Buddhist sense 'previous life' is a direct borrowing of the Chinese term.

将しょう来らい

N5

過去 means 'the past', the direct opposite of 将来's 'the future' sense.

過か去こ世ぜ

previous life; past life

Show 5 more

過か去こ作さく
past work; previous title
過か去こ問もん
past exam questions; previous test problems
過か去こ帳ちょう
family death register; Buddhist necrology
過か去こ形けい
past tense
過か去こ生せい
previous life; past life

See all 28 in Explore →