Expressing "towards" with "xiang"

向 (xiàng) is a preposition that means "towards," and is used often when expressing or referring to a certain point.

向 as "towards"

Structure

When used as a preposition, "向" indicates an action that is performed towards a reference point, but doesn't have any actual motion towards that point.

向 + [Direction Word] / Person + Verb

Examples

• 向 东 走 。Xiàng dōng zǒu.Walk towards east.
• 向 前 看 。Xiàng qián kàn.Look forward.
• 向 左 转 。Xiàng zuǒ zhuǎn.Turn left.
• 老师 正 向 我们 走 来 。Lǎoshī zhèng xiàng wǒmen zǒu lái.The teacher is walking up towards us.
• 火车 已经 开 了 ，她 还在 向 我 招手 。Huǒchē yǐjīng kāi le, tā hái zài xiàng wǒ zhāoshǒu.The train already took off. She kept waving towards me.

有时候"向"和宾语之间不是物理关系或空间关系，而是抽象意义的指向。

A few examples:

• 你 必须 向 他 道歉 ！Nǐ bìxū xiàng tā dàoqiàn!You must apologize to him!
• 这 件 事 你 应该 向 老板 汇报 一下 。Zhè jiàn shì nǐ yīnggāi xiàng lǎobǎn huìbào yīxià.You should report this to the boss!

向 as "from"

Whereas in English we would say "learn from someone," in Chinese this would be expressed as "learn toward someone," as in the following example (and famous propaganda slogan):

• 向 雷锋 同志 学习 ！Xiàng Léi Fēng tóngzhì xuéxí!Learn from Comrade Lei Feng!

A few more examples:

• 我 不 喜欢 向 朋友 借钱 。Wǒ bù xǐhuan xiàng péngyou jiè qián.I don't like to borrow money to my friends.
• 你 会 向 陌生人 求助 吗 ？Nǐ huì xiàng mòshēngrén qiúzhù ma?Would you ask strangers for help?
• 我们 都 没 经验 ，是 来 向 你 请教 的 。Wǒmen dōu méi jīngyàn, lái xiàng nǐ qǐngjiào de.None of us have experience. We're here to ask you for advice.

See also

• Using "dui"
• Expressing "with" with "gen"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 84)→buy
• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (pp. 214) →buy
• Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼) (pp. 77) →buy

[[pattern::向 + [Direction Word] / [Person] + Verb| ]]