godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
Intransitive verb for a person, animal, group, or situation moving away from a place. The place left can be marked with を, as in その場を去る.
彼は何も言わずにその場を去った。
He left the scene without saying anything.
After the audience went away, the venue became quiet.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
Used when time, a season, or a period passes and is no longer present. Compared with 過ぎる or 経つ, this can sound slightly more written or reflective.
楽しい時間はあっという間に去ってしまった。
The enjoyable time passed in an instant.
夏が去り、朝晩は少し涼しくなった。
Summer has passed, and the mornings and evenings have become a little cooler.
godan verb (-ru), intransitive verb
be distant; be removed from
Limited written or literary use, especially in the fixed pattern 今を去ること + time, meaning 'so many years/months ago' or literally 'removed from now by ...'.
今を去ること十年、二人はこの町で出会った。
Ten years ago, the two met in this town.
godan verb (-ru), transitive verb
Old or literary transitive use. In modern speech, 追い払う is normally used for 'drive off', and 離縁する or 離婚する for 'divorce'.
古い表現では、「妻を去る」は妻と離縁することを意味する。
In older usage, 妻を去る means to divorce one's wife.
auxiliary verb, godan verb (-ru)
do completely; do away with completely
Auxiliary use after a masu-stem, forming compounds such as 忘れ去る and 消し去る. It adds the sense that the action is carried out completely, often removing something from memory, sight, or existence.
彼はつらい記憶を忘れ去ろうとしていた。
He was trying to forget the painful memories completely.
雨が足跡を消し去った。
The rain completely erased the footprints.
pre-noun adjectival
last ...; this past ...
Only when written 去る
Pre-noun use before a date, month, year, or event, as in 去る四月. It is formal and common in announcements, reports, and news-style writing.
Antonyms: 来る (きたる)
去る四月、京都で国際会議が開かれた。
This past April, an international conference was held in Kyoto.