Expressing "from" with "cong... zhong"

从……中 (cóng... zhōng) is another way to express "from," and differs from the similar 从……到 (cóng... dào) which expresses "from" in relation to time and place. 从……中 tells a source of information, and then tells what knowledge, information, or experience was gained from it.

Structure

从 + Source + 中 + Result

The result is the knowledge, information, or experience gained from the "source."

Examples

• 我 从 书 中 学习 了 很 多 知识 。Wǒ cóng shū zhōng xuéxí le hěn duō zhīshi.I learned a lot from the book.
• 我们 从 聊天 中 知道 小王 不 喜欢 咖啡 。Wǒmen cóng liáotiān zhōng zhīdào Xiǎo Wáng bù xǐhuān kāfēi.We know from chatting that Xiao Wang doesn't like coffee.
• 从 这 件 事 中 小王 明白 了 诚实 的 重要 。Cóng zhè jiàn shì zhōng Xiǎo Wáng míngbai le chéngshí de zhòngyào.Xiao Wang knows the importance of honesty from this matter.
• 从 老 房子 中 我们 找 出来 很 多 九十 年代 的 东西。Cóng lǎo fángzi zhōng wǒmen zhǎo chūlai hěn duō jiǔshí niándài de dōngxi.We found a lot of stuff from the nineties in the old house.
• 从 电话 中 我 听出 他 不 是 很 开心 。Cóng diànhuà zhōng wǒ tīng chū tā bù shì hěn kāixīn.I could tell from the phone that he wasn't very happy.
• 丽丽 从 微信 中 发现 了 她 丈夫 和 别的 女人 聊天 。Lìlì cóng Wēixìn zhōng fāxiàn le tā zhàngfu hé biéde nǚrén liáotiān.Lili found out from WeChat that her husband was talking to another woman.
• 我 从 文章 中 找到 一 个 错误 。Wǒ cóng wénzhāng zhōng zhǎodào yī gè cuòwù.I found an error in the article.
• 我 从 这 次 旅行 中 学习 了 很 多 道理 。Wǒ cóng zhè cì lǚxíng zhōng xuéxí le hěn duō dàolǐ.I've learned a lot of things from this trip.
• 从 这 杯 水 中 你 能 看到 什么 ？Cóng zhè bēi shuǐ zhōng nǐ néng kāndào shénme?What do you see in this glass of water?
• 从 这 次 的 比赛 中 我 收获 了 友谊 。Cóng zhè cì de bǐsài zhōng wǒ shōuhuò le yǒuyì.I gained a lot of friendship from this competition.

Sources and further reading

Books

• Anything Goes (无所不谈) (pp. 8) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

HSK5