According to MDBG, 我去 is slang, meaning "shoot" or "dang." But obviously, it also means "I go."
Does anyone know the etymology of this? Did it arise from people angrily saying that they're so upset that they're leaving?
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去 in 我去 is short for 去你的– Tang Ho ♦Commented Jun 10, 2020 at 3:37
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我去 is more like "what the hell", "what the heck" in English. People may not be upset.– danCommented Jun 10, 2020 at 4:50
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Quote:- "But obviously, it also means "I go" Good question. Why is "go" so negative or insulting? "Go", but the question is where to? In many cultures death is a taboo subject or to wish someone's death is the height of hatred. So, in Chinese, "去世" is to pass away, i.e. died. Literally 去世 means "to go away from the world of the living" So, 去你, implies "you go and die" Even in English when you make a very bad decision or mistake, you say, "this will be the death of me", or 我去. It does not mean you commit suicide of course, but you get the drift.– Wayne CheahCommented Jun 10, 2020 at 6:35
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@WayneCheah 我去 has nothing to do with 去世.– danCommented Jun 10, 2020 at 11:40
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@TangHo, that's an interesting comment. But for me the meaning of "我去你的" isn't entirely clear either! Literally that would be "I go (to) (yours)." Can you elaborate?– goPlayerJugglerCommented Jun 10, 2020 at 12:37
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4 Answers
我去：When used to express strong emotions, it can be to yourself or others. For example: annoyance, anger, loss, surprise, envy, etc., which is close to the meaning of "我靠".
Its an abbreviation of 我了个去，which is a euphemism of 我了个叉，were “了个” roughly means "got one", to emphasis the last word “叉” （fuck）.
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1） 了这里读什么？liǎo吗？// How is 了 pronounced here? As liǎo? 2） 请给一个参考，可以吗？// could you provide a reference? Commented Jun 11, 2020 at 7:56
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了: le; sometimes also written as 勒; reference... this is slang man Commented Jun 11, 2020 at 19:30
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Thanks Siyi. Slang is interesting, and as there are various references for slang in English, like urbandictionary.com I think it's not unreasonable to ask about references for Chinese slang. Commented Jun 12, 2020 at 8:46
A common usage of 我去 is 我了个去 or 哎呀我去. It's just used to express surprise，ridiculousness, astonishment, etc..
It's not relevant to "damn, shit, fxxk" or anything. I think it's more like "what the heck/hell" in English.
I also disagree that it's short for 我去你的. 我去你的 is a dismissal phrase while 我去 doesn't connote that sense.
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1） 了这里读什么？liǎo吗？// How is 了 pronounced here? As liǎo? 2） 请给一个参考，可以吗？// could you provide a reference? Commented Jun 11, 2020 at 12:39
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1@goPlayerJuggler 了 is pronounced as le or lei colloquially. I don't have any reference. That's just how it's pronounced in daily usage.– danCommented Jun 11, 2020 at 13:31
去你的 : (verb)
screw
Go hell!
Fxxk
"我去你的" = "I (am saying this): damn!"
去你的 literally mean "go yours" (implying 'go to hell')
我去 is a proclamation. It is similar to "Damn!/ Shit!/ FXXK!" " in English.
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No, it doesn't literally mean any of that, but they are all proclamations, just like OMG, Holy cow. All for expressing strong reaction– Tang Ho ♦Commented Jun 11, 2020 at 1:25
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A better reference perhaps: wordreference.com/zhen/%E5%8E%BB%E4%BD%A0%E7%9A%84# Commented Jun 11, 2020 at 7:51
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sure, I'd add this too. Basically the literal meaning is not too relevant when looking for English counterpart– Tang Ho ♦Commented Jun 11, 2020 at 10:06