How to Say “I have been there” in Chinese
Small talk and travel · HSK 3
"I have been there" in Chinese is 我去过那里 (Wǒ qù guo nà lǐ). 过 (guo, neutral tone) is the 'experiential aspect' marker; it means you've done something at least once in your life, which maps perfectly onto English 'have been/done.' Don't confuse it with 了 (le), which marks completion of a specific action.
Primary translation
我去过那里
Wǒ qù guo nà lǐ
Traditional: 我去過那裡
Variants by register
Formal
我去过那里
Wǒ qù guo nà lǐ
Casual
我去过
Wǒ qù guo
When to use it
过 (guo, neutral tone) is the 'experiential aspect' marker; it means you've done something at least once in your life, which maps perfectly onto English 'have been/done.' Don't confuse it with 了 (le), which marks completion of a specific action. The negative is 没去过 (méi qù guo), never 不去过. In casual reply you can drop 那里 entirely; just 去过 is a complete answer, like English 'Yeah, been there.' Add 好几次 (hǎo jǐ cì, 'several times') to sound more natural.
Example sentences
我去过北京好几次。
Wǒ qù guo běi jīng hǎo jǐ cì.
I've been to Beijing several times.
你去过西安吗？; 去过，很漂亮。
Nǐ qù guo xī ān ma?; Qù guo, hěn piào liang.
Have you been to Xi'an?; Yes, it's beautiful.
我没去过那家餐厅，好吃吗？
Wǒ méi qù guo nà jiā cān tīng, hǎo chī ma?
I haven't been to that restaurant; is it good?