Meaning
direction; part; side; towards; to; guide
Chinese: 方向、朝着，也可表示一向。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “xiang” becomes a different word in each tone. 向 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 方向fāng xiàngdirection; orientation
- 向前xiàng qiánforward; onward
- 一向yī xiànga period of time in the recent past; (indicating a period of time up to the present) all along; the whole time
- 转向zhuǎn xiàngto change direction; fig. to change one's stance
- 向上xiàng shàngupward; up; to advance; to try to improve oneself
Example Sentence
请向前走两百米。Qǐng xiàng qián zǒu liǎng bǎi mǐ.Please walk forward two hundred meters.
请Qǐngto ask向前xiàng qiánforward走zǒuto walk两liǎngtwo百米bǎi mǐhectometer。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A pictograph of a wall with a window or opening facing outward. From the way an opening faces, it came to mean ‘toward / direction’.
A way to remember it
A window in a wall facing out — the way it points.
Easy to confuse with
- 同‘Same’: a similar frame, but with a line and 口 inside.