走过
zoǔ guò · HSK 2
to walk past
🚶 走 = walk + 过 = pass/cross; literally walk-pass
走过 stacks two common verbs: 走 (zǒu, to walk) and 过 (guò, to cross or pass). The compound names the action of walking past something — feet doing the walking, 过 marking the passing-by.
走 — person running 夭 + foot 止
Originally a pictograph of a person with arms swinging (夭) above a foot (止), depicting someone running. The bottom 止 (foot) was later simplified to a form resembling 火 in modern script. The original sense was 'to run,' which still survives in compounds; the everyday meaning shifted to 'to walk' or 'to go.'
过 — 辶 walk radical + 呙 (phonetic)
过 combines the walking radical 辶, suggesting motion or passage, with 呙 serving as the phonetic component. Originally it depicted crossing or passing by on foot, which extended to meanings like 'to pass,' 'to cross over,' and later 'past' or 'excessive.' The simplified form replaces the traditional 過.