The character "过去" is formed by combining two distinct pictographic and conceptual elements: "过" (guò), which originally depicted a foot crossing a boundary or limit, conveying the idea of passing through or crossing over, and "去" (qù), which graphically represents a person leaving a cavity or enclosed space, conveying the idea of departure or moving away. When placed together, they create a compound where the spatial metaphor of "crossing over and leaving" is extended to describe the abstract passage of time, visually and conceptually representing what has "passed by and gone away", hence meaning "the past".