Learn Hardcore Chinese: nǐ zài zhèlǐ guò guo Chūnjié ma? - Have you ever spent Spring Festival here?

The first 过 (guò) is the main verb:
- 过春节 = “to spend Spring Festival” / “to celebrate Spring Festival”.
The second 过 (guo) is the aspect particle (neutral tone) that marks experiential aspect:
- It means “have ever done / have had the experience of doing”.

So 过过春节 literally combines:

过 (guò) “to spend (a festival)”
过 (guo) (aspect particle) “ever before”

Together: 过过春节 ≈ “have (ever) spent Spring Festival”.
So the whole sentence means: “Have you ever spent Spring Festival here?”

What exactly does the structure 过过 express? Why not just one 过?

Here’s the breakdown:

过春节: “to spend Spring Festival” (just describing the action)
过过春节: “to have (ever) spent Spring Festival” (focusing on whether you have the experience)

The second 过 (aspect particle) adds the “ever before” / “have done at least once in your life” meaning.

Compare:

你在这里过春节吗？
Can mean “Do you spend Spring Festival here?” / “Will you spend it here?” (habitual or future, depending on context).
你在这里过过春节吗？
Clearly means “Have you ever spent Spring Festival here (before)?”

So the extra 过 is what creates the experiential meaning.

Are the two 过 pronounced differently?

Yes:

First 过 (the verb): guò – 4th tone (falling)
Second 过 (the aspect particle): guo – neutral tone (light, short, no tone mark)

So 过过 is pronounced: guò·guo (strong 4th tone + light syllable).

In Pinyin:

Verb: guò
Aspect particle: guo

In characters they look the same, but the pronunciation and function differ.

What is the difference between using 过 and 了 in a sentence like this?

过 and 了 are both aspect markers, but they express different ideas.

过 (guo) (experiential):
- Focus: whether something has ever happened at least once (experience up to now).
- Example:
  - 你在这里过过春节吗？
    “Have you ever spent Spring Festival here (before)?”
了 (le) (completion/change):
- Focus: that a specific action actually happened and is completed, usually at a particular time.
- Example:
  - 你在这里过了春节吗？
    “Did you spend Spring Festival here (that time)?”
    (e.g. talking about last Spring Festival, or about a specific year in context)

So:

过过 = “have ever done (at least once in your life/so far)”
过了 = “did do (that specific time)”

They are not interchangeable here if you want the “ever before” meaning.

Does 过 here mean the same thing as “to pass (by), to cross” in other sentences?

It’s the same character 过, but with different, related meanings:

to pass / to cross:
- 过马路 – to cross the road
- 火车过桥了 – the train has gone over the bridge
to pass / to spend (time, a holiday):
- 过一天 – to spend/pass a day
- 过周末 – to spend the weekend
- 过春节 – to spend/celebrate Spring Festival

In 过春节, the idea is “to get through / live through the festival period”, which naturally extends to “to celebrate / to spend (that holiday)”.

Why do we need 在 before 这里? Can we say 你这里过过春节吗？

You normally need 在 to introduce a location where an action happens.

The common pattern is:

Subject + 在 + place + Verb + Object

So:

你在这里过过春节吗？
Subject: 你
Place phrase: 在这里
Verb-object: 过过春节

你这里过过春节吗？ sounds incorrect or at least very unnatural in standard Mandarin.

Correct alternatives with the same meaning:

你在这里过过春节吗？
你在这儿过过春节吗？ (using 这儿 instead of 这里)

What’s the difference between 这里 and 这儿? Can I swap them in this sentence?

这里 (zhèlǐ) and 这儿 (zhèr) both mean “here”.

Differences:

这里 is more standard / neutral and is used widely in writing and speech.
这儿 is more common in northern spoken Mandarin (e.g. Beijing area).

In this sentence you can freely swap them:

你在这里过过春节吗？
你在这儿过过春节吗？

Both are natural. Choice depends mainly on personal or regional preference.

What does the particle 吗 do here, and how else could I ask the same question?

吗 (ma) is a particle that turns a statement into a yes–no question.

Statement form:

你在这里过过春节。
“You have (ever) spent Spring Festival here.”

Add 吗 at the end:

你在这里过过春节吗？
“Have you ever spent Spring Festival here?”

Another common way to make a yes–no question is the A-not-A pattern, but it’s less natural here with 过. You might hear:

你在这里过过春节没有？
你在这里过过春节吗？

Both are used; 吗 is simpler and very common.

How do I answer this question correctly, both yes and no?

Question:

你在这里过过春节吗？
“Have you ever spent Spring Festival here?”

Affirmative answers:

我在这里过过春节。
I have spent Spring Festival here (before).
More natural short forms in conversation:
- 过。 (Yes, I have.)
- 在这里过过。 (Have done so here.)

Negative answers:

With experiential 过, you must use 没(有), not 不:

我没在这里过过春节。
我没有在这里过过春节。
I have never spent Spring Festival here.

Short versions:

没过。 / 没在这里过。 – “No, I haven’t (here).”

Is the word order fixed? Could I say 春节你在这里过过吗？

Basic, most neutral order is:

Subject + 在 + place + Verb + Object
你在这里过过春节吗？

However, Chinese does allow some flexibility for emphasis or topic-fronting.

春节你在这里过过吗？
Literally “Spring Festival, have you ever spent (it) here?”
This is understandable and can sound natural in context, especially in spoken Chinese, where 春节 is put first as the topic.

Less natural:

你在这里春节过过吗？ – sounds awkward.
你过过春节在这里吗？ – wrong word order.

For learners, it’s safest to stick to:

你在这里过过春节吗？
and later learn topic-fronting patterns like 春节你… as you advance.

Is there another common way to ask the same thing, maybe with different words?

Yes, very commonly 春节 is referred to simply as 年 (“the New Year” in this context):

你在这里过过年吗？
Literally: “Have you ever spent the New Year here?”
In context, this usually means the Chinese New Year / Spring Festival.

So you might hear either:

你在这里过过春节吗？
你在这里过过年吗？

Both are natural; 过年 is extremely common in everyday speech.