往

wǎng
HSK 4
#369 most
frequent character
to go (in a direction), to, towards
preposition
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

往 joins 彳 movement as the meaning part with 王 wáng as the sound part. The small stroke 丶 was once 止, a foot. The first meaning was 'to go, arrive'. It grew to 'to go toward' and then 'previous, already gone'.

Ask DeepSeek

Example Sentences

我往学校走。
wǒ wǎng xuéxiào zǒu 。
I am going towards the school.
火车往北京去。
huǒchē wǎng běijīng qù 。
The train is bound for Beijing.
他往左边走。
tā wǎngzuǒbiān zǒu 。
He is going to the left.

Words with similar meanings

去qù
to go
A more common verb used in everyday conversation for 'to go' without indicating a direction.
行háng
to travel
A more formal term often used in written Chinese or official contexts, conveying a sense of movement.

Words Starting With 往

往往wǎng wǎng
often; frequently
往返wǎng fǎn
to go back and forth; to go to and fro
往事wǎng shì
past events; former happenings
往常wǎng cháng
habitually in the past; as one used to do formerly; as it used to be

Your word lists

Sign in to add this word to your private lists.