Have You Ever Eaten Stinky Tofu? Mastering the Experience Particle 過 / 过 (guò)

Have you ever eaten durian? Seen a UFO? Or visited the beautiful island of Taiwan? In Mandarin Chinese, when we want to talk about these kinds of life experiences, we use a very specific grammar tool: the particle 過 / 过 (guò).

Many learners get confused between 了 (le) and 過 / 过 (guò). While 了 often focuses on the completion of an action (like “I ate dinner”), 過 / 过 is all about life experience. It focuses on whether something has happened at least once at an undefined point in your past.

The Basic Structure: Verb + 過 / 过

The basic structure for telling someone you have done something is straightforward:

Subject + Verb + 過 / 过 + Object

Unlike English, you don’t need to specify exactly when the event happened. The presence of 過 / 过 already implies the experience is part of your history.

• 我去過台北 / 我去过台北。
  • Wǒ qùguò Táiběi.
  • I have been to Taipei.
• 我吃過臭豆腐 / 我吃过臭豆腐。
  • Wǒ chīguò chòudòufu.
  • I have eaten stinky tofu.

How to Say You HAVEN’T Done Something

If you want to say you have never done something, remember this golden rule: Don’t use 不 (bù)!

Because we are negating an experience in the past, we use 沒 / 没 (méi). While 不 is typically used for present or future habits, 沒 / 没 negates the action itself in this context.

• 我沒去過紐約 / 我没去过纽约。
  • Wǒ méi qùguò Niǔyuē.
  • I have not been to New York.
• 我沒學過法文 / 我没学过法文。
  • Wǒ méi xuéguò Fǎwén.
  • I have not learned French.

To emphasize that you have never, ever done something in your entire life, add 從來 / 从来 (cónglái):

• 我從來沒吃過蛇肉 / 我从来没吃过蛇肉。
  • Wǒ cónglái méi chīguò shéròu.
  • I have never (ever) eaten snake meat.

Adding Frequency: How Many Times?

Sometimes simply saying “I have done it” isn’t enough—you want to say how many times. To do this, we use the frequency measure word 次 (cì).

• 我去過鼎泰豐三次 / 我去过鼎泰丰三次。
  • Wǒ qùguò Dǐng Tài Fēng sān cì.
  • I have been to Din Tai Fung three times.

If you want to emphasize that it was only one time, you can add 只 (zhǐ):

• 我只去過一次 / 我只去过一次。
  • Wǒ zhǐ qùguò yí cì.
  • I have only been once.

Asking Questions About Experience

There are two common ways to ask someone about their life experiences.

Option 1: The 嗎 / 吗 (ma) Pattern

Simply add 嗎 / 吗 to the end of a statement.

• 你看過這本書嗎 / 你看过这本书吗？
  • Nǐ kànguò zhè běn shū ma?
  • Have you read this book?

Option 2: The 有沒有 / 有没有 (yǒu méiyǒu) Pattern

This “Have or have not” structure is very common in spoken Chinese.

• 你有沒有去過美國 / 你有没有去过美国？
  • Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu qùguò Měiguó?
  • Have you been to the US?

Key Vocabulary from this Lesson

Traditional	Simplified	Pinyin	English
過	过	guò	Experience particle
榴蓮	榴莲	liúlián	Durian
飛碟	飞碟	fēidié	UFO
臭豆腐	臭豆腐	chòudòufu	Stinky Tofu
從來沒	从来没	cónglái méi	Never ever
蛇肉	蛇肉	shéròu	Snake meat
次	次	cì	Frequency (times)
只	只	zhǐ	Only

Summary Table

Form	Structure	Example (Trad/Simp)
Positive	Verb + 過 / 过	我吃過 / 我吃过
Negative	沒 / 没 + Verb + 過 / 过	我沒吃過 / 我没吃过
Emphasis	從來沒 / 从来没 + Verb + 過 / 过	我從來沒吃過 / 我从来没吃过
Question	…過嗎？ / 有沒有…過？	你吃過嗎 / 你吃过吗？

Now it’s your turn! Let us know in the comments how many times you’ve been to Taiwan (or where you want to go) using the 過 / 过 and 次 patterns! 🥟