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B2 · Grammar reference · ASGIHS2L

Comparing "chao" "xiang" and "wang"

All three of these, 朝 (cháo), 向 (xiàng), and 往 (wǎng) can be used to indicate direction or position. When these preposition phrases are used before a verb, the three have the same structure and their meaning is the same. Although they are often interchangeable, there are also cases when they are not.

Structure

向 / 朝 / 往 + Direction + Verb

Verb + 向 / 往 + Direction

向 / 朝 + Target + Concrete Verb

向 + Target + Abstract Verb

Keywords
朝 · 向 · 往
Used for
Describing things · Describing actions
Classification

Examples (21)

从这里向/朝/往北走两百米就到了。

这个小女孩向左看看又向右看看才过马路。

我看见他朝你们家去了。

往前走十分钟。

这趟火车开往沈阳。

这趟航班飞往纽约。

一辆黑色的小轿车慢慢地从东驶向西。

像鸟儿一样飞向蓝天。

他向/朝我笑了笑。

我朝他开了一枪。

他已经向全体员工解释过了。

他是优秀员工,我们都要向他学习。

我们要向环保部门要求严查工厂排污。

这个地铁是开往浦东机场的吗?

你要多向雷锋同志学习。

帅哥朝我笑了一下。

帅哥向我笑了一下。

A:他往南走了。

B:笨蛋!你怎么让他往南走呢?南边很危险!

A:你朝我发什么火?我说了他不听。

B:不好意思,我应该向你道歉。

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Full explanation at AllSet Learning

Summary, structure, classification, and adapted sentence examples draw from the AllSet Learning Chinese Grammar Wiki under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0; changes were made. This noncommercial reference is based on an October 2023 snapshot.

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