去

JLPT N4

Leave, past

Readings

On’yomi: キョ (kyo)

Kun’yomi: さ(る) (sa(ru))

• さる (saru) – to leave, to go away

Structure

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Detailed Explanation

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Mnemonic

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Etymology

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Visual Tip

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Vocabulary

去年

きょねん

last year

過去

かこ

past

去る

さる

leave

消去

しょうきょ

erase

去年中

きょねんじゅう

throughout last year

Example Sentences

去年日本へ行きました。

きょねんにほんへいきました。

I went to Japan last year.

過去を振り返ります。

かこをふりかえります。

I look back on the past.

彼は去りました。

かれはさりました。

He left.

データを消去します。

でーたをしょうきょします。

I delete the data.

去年中忙しかったです。

きょねんじゅういそがしかったです。

I was busy all last year.

Cultural Note

📜 In classical Japanese literature, 去 often appears in poems or historical texts to describe the passing of time or things leaving — for example, 去来 (きょらい) meaning “coming and going.”
• Conceptually, 去 ties to transience, which is a key element in Japanese aesthetics (like もののあはれ) — the awareness of impermanence.
• Modern usage is practical: departure, leaving, or referring to the past (過去).