How to Use 向 & 往 | Expressing “Towards” in Chinese [B1]

Q: What is the sentence structure for 向?

The sentence structure for 向 is: 向 + direction/person + verb

Q: What is the sentence structure for 往?

往 can go before or after a verb. Before a verb: 往 + direction/place + verb After a verb: verb + 往 + direction/place

Q: When can 给 replace 向?

给 can replace 向 when 向 is used with people and verbs. 给 cannot replace 向 when 向 is used with direction. Examples: – 我们必须 向/给 他们道谢。 wǒmen bìxū xiàng/gěi tāmen dàoxiè. We must say thank you to them. / We must thank them. – 她 向/给 老师道歉。 tā xiàng/gěi lǎoshī dàoqiàn. She apologised to the teacher.

Home HSK 3 Saying "towards" using 向 and 往

HOW TO USE 向 AND 往

The characters 向 (xiàng) and 往 (wǎng) are both prepositions that are used with verbs to mean “towards”.

向 is used more often compared to 往.

However, both have different situations in which they can be used.

HOW TO USE 向 FOR DIRECTIONS

As a preposition, 向 shows that an action is carried out in the direction mentioned. There might not be any actual movement involved.

Because of this, you can think of 向 as just mentioning a direction that something should happen or to whom something should happen.

Here 向 means “towards“, “to”, “for”, “from” or “at”.

NOTE | 向 and 给 might sometimes replace each other except when 向 is used to emphasise or show direction.

PATTERN

向 + Direction/Place + Verb

^{xiàng qián zǒu}

向前走。

_{Walk forward/straight.}

^{qǐng xiàng yòu zǒu.}

请向右走。

_{Please walk towards the right.}

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CHINESE	PINYIN	ENGLISH
他向我说明了他的意思。	tā xiàng wǒ shuōmíngliǎo tā de yìsi.	He explained to me what he meant.
我向孩子走去的时候，她开始哭了。	wǒ xiàng háizi zǒu qù de shíhòu, tā kāishǐ kūle.	When I walked towards the child, she started crying.
你应该向她们说对不起。	nǐ yīnggāi xiàng tāmen shuō duìbùqǐ.	You should say sorry to them.
这个地方现在向客人开放。	zhège dìfāng xiànzài xiàng kèrén kāifàng.	This place is now open to guests.
她向我告别。	tā xiàng wǒ gàobié.	She bid me farewell./She said bye to me.
我对你说话的时候，你为什么向下看？	wǒ duì nǐ shuōhuà de shíhòu, nǐ wèishéme xiàng xià kàn?	Why do you look down when I’m talking to you?
他常常向我们请教。	tā chángcháng xiàng wǒmen qǐngjiào.	He often asks us for advice.
她向我学习英语，我向她学法语。	tā xiàng wǒ xuéxí yīngyǔ, wǒ xiàng tā xué fǎyǔ.	She learns English from me, I learn French from her.
他向王先生租了一个房间。	tā xiàng wáng xiānshēng zūle yīgè fángjiān.	He rents a room from Mr. Wang.
我们必须向/给他们道谢。	wǒmen bìxū xiàng/gěi tāmen dàoxiè.	We must say thank you to them./We must thank them.
她向/给老师道歉。	tā xiàng/gěi lǎoshī dàoqiàn.	She apologised to the teacher.

HOW TO USE 往 FOR DIRECTIONS

往 (wǎng) can be used before or after verbs to imply “towards”.

Before a verb

When 往 is placed before a direction or place and verb, it shows the direction of the movement.

往 before a verb is often used in daily speech.

Here 往 means “towards”, “to go (in a direction)”, or “to”.

PATTERN

往 + Direction/Place + Verb

^{qǐng wǎng nà biān zǒu.}

请往那边走。

_{Please go that way.}

^{wǎng huí xiǎngdào nàgè shíhòu.}

往回想到那个时候。

_{Think back to that time.}

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CHINESE	PINYIN	ENGLISH
往前走，第一路口右拐。	wǎng qián zǒu, dì yī lùkǒu yòu guǎi.	Go forward and turn right at the first intersection.
他从他房间的窗户往外看。	tā cóng tā fángjiān de chuānghù wǎngwài kàn.	He looked out of his room’s window.
请往这边看。	qǐng wǎng zhè biān kàn.	Please look this way.
他想哭的时候，他往上看。	tā xiǎng kū de shíhòu, tā wǎng shàng kàn.	When he wants to cry, he looks up

After a verb

When 往 is placed after a verb and before a direction/place, the verb has to imply a sort of motion since 往 generally implies a destination.

Here, the verb has to be monosyllabic (one character verb) e.g. 带 (dài,), 开 (kāi), 飞 (fēi), etc.

Using 往 after a verb is common in written speech.

PATTERN

Verb + 往 + Direction/Place

^{tā zuò fēi wǎng nánfēi de fēijī.}

他坐飞往南非的飞机。

_{He was on a plane to South Africa.}

^{zhè tàng huǒchē kāi wǎng nǎ’er?}

这趟火车开往哪儿？

_{Where does this train go?}

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CHINESE	PINYIN	ENGLISH
请开车把我们送往火车站。	qǐng kāichē bǎ wǒmen sòng wǎng huǒchē zhàn.	Please drive us to the train station.
你们知道他往哪儿去吗？	nǐmen zhīdào tā wǎng nǎ’er qù ma?	Do you know where he has gone?
我不知道该往哪儿走。	wǒ bù zhīdào gāi wǎng nǎ’er zǒu.	I don’t know where I should go.
他昨天飞往上海出差。	tā zuótiān fēi wǎng shànghǎi chūchāi.	He flew to Shanghai yesterday on business.

HOW TO USE 往下

Depending on the context, 往下 (wǎng xià) can imply “a downward movement” or “keep going on doing an action”.

When 往下 (wǎng xià) is used with communication or sensory verbs like 看 (kàn), 说 (shuō), or 听 (tīng), etc, it shows the continuation of a previously interrupted action, so implies “keep going doing an action”.

PATTERN

Verb + 往 + Direction/Place

^{qǐng wǎng xià lái.}

请往下来。

_{Please come down.}

^{tā wǎng xià kàn.}

他往下看。

_{He is looking down.}

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CHINESE	PINYIN	ENGLISH
他为什么从五楼往下跳？	tā wèishéme cóng wǔ lóu wǎng xià tiào?	Why did he jump (down) from the fifth floor?
他顿了一下，又接着往下说。	tā dùnle yīxià, yòu jiēzhe wǎng xià shuō.	He paused, then continued speaking.
她不想往下读。	tā bùxiǎng wǎng xià dú.	She doesn’t want to continue reading.
如果你往下听，你会明白他的意思。	rúguǒ nǐ wǎng xià tīng, nǐ huì míngbái tā de yìsi.	If you continue listening, you’ll understand what he means.

SUMMARY 向 vs 往

Now that you know how to use 向 and 往, let’s look at their similarities and differences.

Similarities

Both can be used before a direction and verb 向/往 + direction + verb	– 请向/往前走。 Please go forward. – 过路的时候，请向/往左看又向/往右看。 When you’re crossing the road, please look left and right.
Both can be used after a verb and before a direction. 往 is used more often in these sentences Verb + 向/往 + direction	– 他开车向/往西去。 He drove towards the west. – 这趟火车开向/往北京。 This train goes to Beijing.

Difference

Only 向 can be used with people and specific targets that are not destinations like employees, departments etc. The verb can be definite or abstract.

PATTERN

向 + People/Specific Targets + Definite/Abstract Verbs

^{tā xiàng wǒ shuōmíngliǎo tā de yìsi.}

他向我说明了他的意思。

_{He explained to me what he meant.}

^{tā wèishéme xiàng wǒ xiàole xiào.}

他为什么向我笑了笑。

_{Why did he smile at me?}

View More Phrases

CHINESE	PINYIN	ENGLISH
你要向他学习。	nǐ yào xiàng tā xuéxí.	You have to learn from him.
她向她的几个朋友介绍我。	tā xiàng tā de jǐ gè péngyǒu jièshào wǒ.	She introduced me to some of her friends.
她向她的员工道歉。	tā xiàng tā de yuángōng dàoqiàn.	She apologised to her employees.

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FAQs

What is the sentence structure for 向?

The sentence structure for 向 is:

向 + direction/person + verb

What is the sentence structure for 往?

往 can go before or after a verb.

Before a verb: 往 + direction/place + verb

After a verb: verb + 往 + direction/place

When can 给 replace 向?

给 can replace 向 when 向 is used with people and verbs.

给 cannot replace 向 when 向 is used with direction.

Examples:

– 我们必须向/给他们道谢。

wǒmen bìxū xiàng/gěi tāmen dàoxiè.

We must say thank you to them. / We must thank them.

– 她向/给老师道歉。

tā xiàng/gěi lǎoshī dàoqiàn.

She apologised to the teacher.

How is 向 pronounced?

向 is pronounced xiàng.

How is 往 pronounced?

往 is pronounced wǎng.

Where can I find more Chinese lessons?

There are more Chinese grammar lessons like this one in our Chinese Grammar Bank.

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Chinese Grammar Bank

HOW TO USE 向 AND 往

HOW TO USE 向 FOR DIRECTIONS

PATTERN