Meaning of 往
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to go (in a direction)
- to
- towards
- (of a train) bound for
- past
- previous
- old variant of 往[wang3]
How to use 往
As a preposition, 往 comes before a direction or place to mean "toward," and it is very common when giving directions. Example: 往左走。(Wǎng zuǒ zǒu.) Go to the left. On trains and buses you will also see it meaning "bound for," as in 开往北京 (kāiwǎng Běijīng), bound for Beijing.
往 has the 彳 (chì) "step" part on the left, which shows up in many movement characters like 行 and 很. Picture taking steps on a path, heading toward somewhere: that is 往 (wǎng), to go toward.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 往 (wǎng) with 住 (zhù, to live). They look alike, but 往 has the double-person 彳 on the left while 住 has the single-person 亻. Also keep the third tone in wǎng. Do not mix it up with 忘 (wàng, to forget), which is fourth tone.
往 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
往 wǎng · to go · 8 strokes
- 1
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- 3
- 4
- 5
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- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 往.
| 前往 | qiánwǎng | to leave for; to proceed towards; to go to |
| 交往 | jiāowǎng | to associate (with); to have contact (with) |
| 往往 | wǎngwǎng | usually; in many cases |
| 以往 | yǐwǎng | in the past; formerly |
| 往后 | wǎnghòu | from now on; in the future |
| 来往 | láiwǎng | to come and go; to have dealings with |
| 往来 | wǎnglái | dealings; contacts |
| 往年 | wǎngnián | in former years; in previous years |
| 通往 | tōngwǎng | to lead to |
| 往常 | wǎngcháng | usual; customary |
| 飞往 | fēiwǎng | |
| 往事 | wǎngshì | past events; former happenings |
Questions about 往
What does 往 mean?
往 (wǎng) means "to go (in a direction); to" and is used as a verb and preposition.
How do you write 往?
往 is made of 1 character: 往 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 往 an HSK word?
Yes. 往 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 往 and 向 when saying "toward"?
Both can mark direction, as in 往前走 and 向前走 (go forward), and in that case they are often interchangeable. 向 can also point toward a person, as in 向他学习 (learn from him), but 往 cannot be used that way.
Does 往往 mean the same as 常常?
Not exactly. 往往 (wǎngwǎng) describes a pattern that usually happens under certain conditions, based on experience. 常常 (chángcháng) simply means "often" and can be used for future plans or requests, which 往往 cannot.