HSK 6 · Time

以往 yǐwǎng “in the past” in Chinese

Said as yíwǎng

Same in Traditional

What 以往 means

  1. in the past
  2. previously
  3. formerly

How to say 以往

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale以yǐ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale往wǎng3rd tone, dipping

Said as yíwǎng. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. How tone changes work

以往 in a sentence

  1. 她似乎比以往任何时候都漂亮。

    Tā sìhū bǐ yǐwǎng rènhé shíhou dōu piàoliang.

    She looked more beautiful than ever.

    Sentence #334053 from Tatoeba

  2. 今年下的雪比以往少。

    Jīnnián xià de xuě bǐ yǐwǎng shǎo.

    We’ve had less snow this year than usual.

    Sentence #899514 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 今年将会不同以往吗？

    Jīnnián jiāng huì bùtóng yǐwǎng ma?

    Will this year be different from before?

    Sentence #5094948 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 以往 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 以 (yǐ) drawn as one shape
以yǐto use

以 is a single shape of 4 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

The character 往 (wǎng) drawn as one shape
往wǎngto go

往 is a single shape of 8 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

How to write 以往

以 4 strokes · 往 8 strokes

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

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

Words related to 以往

Words with 以

可以kěyǐ · can所以suǒyǐ · so以前yǐqián · before以后yǐhòu · after以下yǐxià · below以上yǐshàng · above以外yǐwài · apart from以yǐ · with以为yǐwéi · to think (wrongly)以及yǐjí · and

Words with 往

往wǎng · to go (in a direction)往往wǎngwǎng · usually交往jiāowǎng · to associate with往返wǎngfǎn · to go back and forth往常wǎngcháng · usually (in the past)往事wǎngshì · the past向往xiàngwǎng · to yearn for礼尚往来lǐshàngwǎnglái · courtesy calls for reciprocity一如既往yìrújìwǎng · as always

More words: Time & Sequence

昔日xīrì · former days延期yánqī · to postpone延续yánxù · to continue一度yídù · once原先yuánxiān · originally元宵节Yuánxiāojié · Lantern Festival预先yùxiān · in advance暂且zànqiě · for the time being

FAQs

以往 (yǐwǎng) means “in the past” or “previously”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it yǐwǎng: yǐ with a 3rd tone, then wǎng with a 3rd tone. In speech it sounds like yíwǎng. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 以往 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yiwang with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 以往 from the suggestions. Typing yiwang into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
以往 is an HSK 6 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.