■ radical

qù

to go away

How it’s built

Origin unclear. The 口 component is variously explained as (1) an opening to a building or cave that the person is departing from, or (2) an anus, i.e. the orifice through which things leave a person.

大

iconic

big — Here used as a pictograph of a person.

口

iconic

mouth — Here used as a pictograph of some sort of opening.

Through the ages

Oracle bone script

Seal script

Appears in

Characters that use 去 as a component, most common first.

法fǎlaw 却quèstill 罢bàto cease 丢diūto lose 劫jiéto take by force 怯qièafraid 砝fáa standard weight (as for a balance)盍héwhat? why not?丟diūto lose