过

RuleVerb + guo: marks the experience of having done something (distinct from the perfective le).

Curiosity

le marks completion ("did"). So how do you say the experience "have been (before)"?

Intuition

guo stamps the record after the verb: "you have undergone that action." If le says "it finished then," guo says "you have done it at some point in life."

Visualization

Insert guo into wo qu Beijing (I go to Beijing) → wo qu guo Beijing (I have been to Beijing). guo goes right after the verb.

plain action (no experience marker)

我subject去verb北京object

guo added (experience)

我subject去verb过过 (experience)北京object

Essence

Verb + guo expresses experience. The negative is mei(you) + verb + guo (mei qu guo). It often pairs with a count (qu guo liang ci, "been there twice"). Use le for a specific completion, guo for life experience.

Examples

我去过北京。

I have been to Beijing.

你吃过北京烤鸭吗?

Have you ever eaten Beijing duck?

我没看过这部电影。

I have never seen this movie.

Mini-quiz

Which expresses "I have been to Japan"?