Expressing "towards" with "xiang"

向 (xiàng) is a preposition that means "towards" and is used often when expressing or referring to a certain point.

1 Used as "towards"

1.1 Structure
1.2 Examples

2 Used as "from"

2.1 Examples

3 See also
4 Sources and further reading

4.1 Books

Used as "towards"

Structure

When used as a preposition, "向" indicates an action that is performed towards a reference point but doesn't have any actual motion towards that point.

Examples

向东走。 Xiàng dōng zǒu. Walk to the east.
向前看。 Xiàng qián kàn. Look forward.
向左转。 Xiàng zuǒ zhuǎn. Turn left.
老师正向我们走来。 Lǎoshī zhèng xiàng wǒmen zǒu lái. The teacher is walking towards us.
火车已经开了，她还在向我招手。 Huǒchē yǐjīng kāi le, tā hái zài xiàng wǒ zhāoshǒu. The train already took off. She kept waving towards me.
你必须向他道歉！ Nǐ bìxū xiàng tā dàoqiàn! You must apologize to him!
这件事你应该向老板汇报一下。 Zhè jiàn shì nǐ yīnggāi xiàng lǎobǎn huìbào yīxià. You should report this to the boss!

Used as "from"

Whereas in English we would say "learn from someone," in Chinese this would be expressed as "learn toward someone," as in the following example (and famous propaganda slogan):

向雷锋同志学习！ Xiàng Léi Fēng tóngzhì xuéxí! Learn from Comrade Lei Feng!

More examples:

我不喜欢向朋友借钱。 Wǒ bù xǐhuan xiàng péngyou jiè qián. I don't like to borrow money from my friends.
你会向陌生人求助吗？ Nǐ huì xiàng mòshēngrén qiúzhù ma? Would you ask strangers for help?
我们都没经验，是来向你请教的。 Wǒmen dōu méi jīngyàn, lái xiàng nǐ qǐngjiào de. None of us have experience. We're here to ask you for advice.

Expressing "towards" with "xiang"

Contents

Used as "towards"

Structure

Examples

Used as "from"

More examples:

See also

Sources and further reading

Books