ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY

toward; direction

What 向 is made of

Where 向 comes from

向 pictured a house wall with a window cut in it — originally the north-facing window. A window faces somewhere, and 向 became the facing itself: toward, in the direction of.

向 in Chinese culture

方向 is direction — what you ask for when lost. 向前 forward, 向左 to the left. Deeper uses: 向往 to yearn toward a life you don't yet have, and 一向 'all along'. To learn from a model citizen is 向他学习 — pointing your whole self at an example.

Example

How to remember it

A window in the wall FACING somewhere — TOWARD.

向日葵 'the flower that faces the sun' is the sunflower — Chinese named it for its 向, the daily turn of its face.

Same sound, different tones

Words unlocked by 向

Related characters

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