Expressing "towards" with "xiang"

When used as a preposition, "向" (xiàng) indicates an action that is performed towards a reference point. An example of this in English is, "She looked inside the window." Note that there is no movement in the action.

Here's the basic structure:

向 + Noun + Verb

Here are some examples of this preposition in action:

• 她的 朋友 一直 向 我 看。
• 我们 需要 向 他 道歉。
• 他 的 女朋友 向 他 笑 了。
• 我 要 向 你 学习!

Note that whereas in English we would say "learn from someone", in Chinese this would be expressed as "learn toward someone", as in the last example sentence.

See also

• Using "dui"
• Using "gen"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 84)→buy