HSK 3 · Function Words

向 xiàng “direction” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 向 means

  1. direction
  2. towards
  3. to turn
  4. to face
  5. to turn towards
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • to support
  • to side with

How to say 向

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale向xiàng4th tone, falling

向 in a sentence

  1. 飞机向西飞了。

    Fēijī xiàng xī fēi le.

    The plane flew west.

    Sentence #5715118 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 请把桌子向左移。

    Qǐng bǎ zhuōzi xiàng zuǒ yí.

    Please move the table to the left.

    Sentence #2370640 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 你可以向他求助。

    Nǐ kěyǐ xiàng tā qiúzhù.

    You can ask him for help.

    Sentence #1691738 from Tatoeba

How 向 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 向 (xiàng) drawn as one shape
向xiàngtowards

向 is a single shape of 6 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidDrawn from a house with a window 口: facing, towards.

How to write 向

向 6 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

向 (xiàng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the character in the order you write it
Stroke order chart for 向 (xiàng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 向

Words with 向

方向fāngxiàng · direction向来xiànglái · always外向wàixiàng · outgoing向往xiàngwǎng · to yearn for向导xiàngdǎo · guide导向dǎoxiàng · orientation倾向qīngxiàng · tendency意向yìxiàng · intention一向yíxiàng · always欣欣向荣xīnxīnxiàngróng · flourishing

More words: Particles & Connectors

如果rúguǒ · if为wèi · for为了wèile · in order to先xiān · first像xiàng · be like一边yìbiān · one side又yòu · once again只有zhǐyǒu · only

FAQs

向 (xiàng) means “direction” or “towards”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it xiàng: xiàng with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 向 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type xiang with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 向 from the suggestions. Typing xiang into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
向 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.