向
Tap the pinyin to hear it
towards; to face; to turn towards; direction; to support; to side with; shortly before; formerly; always; all along; (suffix) suitable for ...; oriented to ...
- HSK 3.0
- Level 2
- Old HSK
- Level 3
- Strokes
- 6
- Radical
- 口 +3
- Structure
- Top enclosure 上包
- Traditional
- 向
- Common rank
- #522
- Unicode
- U+5411
Sound it out + + =
Formation & memory
Break the character into parts you already know.
How 向 is formed
How to remember it
orientation · Heisig RSH #188
a drop of + helmet + 口 mouth
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Words with 向
The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 中向性格 | ambiversion; ambiverted | |
| 向心力 | centripetal force; (fig.) cohering force; cohesion; team spirit | |
| 成人向 | suitable for adults | |
| 女生外向 | a woman is born to leave her family (idiom); a woman's heart is with her husband | |
| 主法向量 | principal normal vector (to a space curve) | |
| 人心所向 | that which is yearned for by the public | |
| 法向力 | normal force (physics) | |
| 向阳区 | Xiangyang, a district of Jiamusi City 佳木斯市[Jia1 mu4 si1 Shi4], Heilongjiang; Xiangyang, a … | |
| 单向电流 | (elec.) unidirectional current; DC; also written 直流[zhi2 liu2] | |
| 方向性 | directionality (molecular biology) | |
| 向阳花 | sunflower | |
| 前一向 | lately; in the recent past | |
| 头向前 | headlong | |
| 好好学习，天天向上 | study hard and every day you will improve (idiom) | |
| 解理方向 | direction of cleavage (e.g. of slate) | |
| 重定向 | to redirect | |
| 自底向上 | bottom-up | |
| 正向力 | normal force (physics) | |
| 明知山有虎，偏向虎山行 | lit. to willfully go towards the mountain although knowing that it has tigers (idiom); fig… | |
| 法向量 | (math.) normal vector |
Sound family
These characters use 向 as their sound component — compare how they read.