3 · Time and place
Towards: wǎng, xiàng and cháo
prepositions of direction
Wǎng points a movement somewhere, xiàng can also aim at a person, and cháo says which way something faces.
All three translate as “towards”, and all three stand before the verb: 往前走, “go straight on”. They differ in what they combine with. 往 is the word of street directions: it gives the direction of a movement and takes a direction word or a place — 往左拐, “turn left”, 往东走, “go east”.
向 can also mark the direction of a movement (向前看, “look ahead”), and it can do more: it aims an action at a person. 向他借 is “borrow from him”, 向他学习 “learn from his example”, 向你道歉 “apologise to you”. 往 cannot do that. 向 also sounds a little more formal.
朝 says which way something faces or points: 我的房间朝南, “my room faces south”. Here 朝 is the verb of the sentence, which 往 is not. It also gives the direction of a look or a gesture towards someone: 她朝我笑了笑, “she smiled at me”.
English speakers make two mistakes here. They put the direction after the verb, as in “walk towards the station”, and they use 往 with a person, where only 向 or 朝 fits. For directions in the street, the safe pattern is always 往 + direction + verb.
The form
| go straight on | 往前走 |
| turn left | 往左拐 |
| learn from someone | 向他学习 |
| face south | 房间朝南 |
| wave at someone | 朝我招手 |
| a train bound for | 开往上海的火车 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
All three stand before the verb, with the direction or place they point to.
你往前走，银行就在右边。Go straight on, and the bank is right there on the right.
往 is the everyday word for the direction of a movement — the word for giving directions.
到了路口往右拐。Turn right at the junction.
向 can also aim at a person: the one an action is directed at.
我们都应该向他学习。We should all learn from his example.
朝 says which way something faces, and it can be the verb of the sentence on its own.
我的卧室朝东，早上很亮。My bedroom faces east, so it is bright in the mornings.
A closer look
Which one when
With a plain direction and a verb of movement, all three are possible and 往 is the most everyday: 往前走, 向前走, 朝前走. With a person, only 向 and 朝 work: 朝他招手, “wave at him”.
When the person is not a target in space but the other side of an exchange — borrowing, asking, apologising, learning — it has to be 向: 向银行借钱, “borrow money from the bank”. And when nothing moves at all, because a house or a window simply faces a way, it is 朝.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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a sign, a ticket or a timetable names where a train, plane or bus is going
往 follows the verb: 开往, 飞往, “bound for”.
这趟火车开往北京。This train is bound for Beijing.
These are set phrases of the written language, kept from an older style; in ordinary sentences 往 stays before the verb.
How to spot it
- 往
- 向
- 朝
- 往前
- 往左
- 往右
Example sentences
请往里走。Please move further in.
你一直往前走，就能看到地铁站。Keep going straight on and you will see the underground station.
她朝我笑了笑。She gave me a smile.
这套房子朝南，冬天很暖和。This flat faces south, so it is warm in winter.
学生们向老师问好。The students greeted the teacher.
河水向东流。The river flows east.
7 more example sentences
过了桥再往左走。Once you have crossed the bridge, go left.
他向我借了一本词典。He borrowed a dictionary from me.
窗户朝北，所以房间有点儿冷。The window faces north, so the room is a little cold.
孩子朝妈妈跑过去了。The child ran over to their mother.
我要向你道歉。I owe you an apology.
车慢慢地往后开。The car slowly reversed.
请大家往这边看。Everyone, please look this way.
Worth knowing (1)
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Directions in the street
Directions come as a chain of short steps, each with 往: 往前走, then 往左拐. In northern cities people often give compass points instead of left and right: 往北走.
出门往左拐，再往前走两百米。Turn left out of the door, then go straight on for two hundred metres.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English says “walk ahead”, verb first. In Chinese the direction is part of the scene and comes before the verb, exactly like a place with 在.
Wǎng for the way you go, xiàng also for the person you turn to, cháo for the way something faces.
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.