出去
chūqù · HSK 1
go/get out
🚪➡️ 出去 = 出 (exit) + 去 (go)
出 shows a sprout pushing up out of the ground — the core sense is 'come/go out'. 去 means 'go (away)'. Stack them and you get 'exit + go' = leave, head out, get out of here.
出 — foot 止 emerging from enclosure 凵
出 is a pictograph showing a foot or plant stepping out of a hollow or enclosure, depicting the act of going forth. The original sense of 'coming out' or 'emerging' has remained stable since oracle bone script. It now broadly means 'to exit, go out, or produce.'
去 — 土 earth on top + 厶 (originally 凵, a vessel/container) below
Originally a pictograph showing a person (大) departing from an enclosed area or vessel, suggesting leaving or going away. Over time the top simplified to 土 and the bottom to 厶. The core meaning 'to go, to leave, to depart' has remained stable since ancient Chinese.