超过 (chāo guò) is a verb meaning 'to surpass', 'to exceed', or 'to go beyond' a limit, standard, number, or expectation. The character 超 (chāo) means 'to go beyond' or 'to transcend', while 过 (guò) adds the sense of 'passing over' or 'crossing past' — together they emphasize crossing a threshold. It is commonly used with numbers (e.g., time, quantity, scores), standards (e.g., speed limits, expectations), or abstract benchmarks (e.g., expectations, norms).

This word appears frequently in formal and neutral contexts — news reports, academic writing, official documents, and everyday comparisons. Unlike the more colloquial verb 比…多/少, 超过 always implies a clear quantitative or qualitative boundary has been crossed. It often takes an object directly (no particle needed), and the object is typically introduced by the preposition 比 only in comparative constructions where it functions as part of a larger clause.