向 meaning in English

xiàng

towards; to face

HSK 2prepositionverb6 strokes

Meaning of 向

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

xiàng

towards
to face
to turn towards
direction
to support
to side with
shortly before
formerly

Xiàng

surname Xiang

xiàng

to tend toward
to guide
variant of 向[xiang4]

xiàng

variant of 向[xiang4]
direction
orientation
to face
to turn toward
to
towards
shortly before

How to use 向

As a preposition, 向 marks the direction of movement or the person an action is aimed at, often with verbs like 走, 看, 学习. Example: 我们向他学习。(Wǒmen xiàng tā xuéxí.) We learn from him. It also appears in words like 方向 (fāngxiàng, direction) and 向前 (xiàng qián, forward).

Picture 向 (xiàng) as a house with a small window 口 in the wall. A window always faces one way, so 向 means to face or towards.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 向 with 像 (xiàng, to resemble) and 象 (xiàng, elephant; image), since all three share the same pronunciation. Remember that only 向 is about direction or facing.

向 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ觉jué得de应yīng该gāi向xiàng她tā道dào歉qiàn的de人rén是shì你nǐ。

I think it's you who should apologize to her.

为wèi什shén么me我wǒ要yào向xiàng你nǐ道dào歉qiàn？

Why should I apologize to you?

带dài我wǒ向xiàng你nǐ家jiā人rén问wèn好hǎo。

Please say hello to your family.

他tā向xiàng学xué生shēng们men告gào别bié了le。

He bade farewell to the students.

我wǒ不bù得de不bù向xiàng她tā道dào歉qiàn。

I must make an apology to her.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

向 xiàng · towards · 6 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 向.

方向	fāngxiàng	direction; orientation
向前	xiàng qián	forward; onward
一向	yīxiàng	a period of time in the recent past; (indicating a period of time up to the present) all a
向上	xiàngshàng	upward; up
转向	zhuǎnxiàng	to change direction; fig. to change one's stance
向导	xiàngdǎo	guide
倾向	qīngxiàng	trend; tendency
面向	miànxiàng	to face; to turn towards; geared towards; catering for; -oriented; (Tw) aspect; facet
指向	zhǐxiàng	to point towards; aimed at
去向	qùxiàng	direction in which sb or sth has gone; whereabouts
向着	xiàngzhe	towards; facing (sb or sth)
向来	xiànglái	always (previously)

Questions about 向

What does 向 mean?

向 (xiàng) means "towards; to face" and is used as a preposition and verb.

How do you write 向?

向 is made of 1 character: 向 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.

Is 向 an HSK word?

Yes. 向 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 向 and 往?

Both can mean towards a place, as in 向前走 or 往前走. Only 向 can point to a person as the target of an action, as in 向老师问好 (xiàng lǎoshī wèn hǎo, greet the teacher).

What does 一向 mean?

一向 (yīxiàng) means all along or consistently, describing something that has been true up to now. Example: 他一向很忙。(Tā yīxiàng hěn máng.) He has always been busy.