往
Tap the pinyin to hear it
to go (in a direction); to; towards; (of a train) bound for; past; previous
- HSK 3.0
- Level 2
- Old HSK
- Level 2
- Strokes
- 8
- Radical
- 彳 +5
- Structure
- Left–right 左右
- Traditional
- 往
- Common rank
- #1,035
- Unicode
- U+5F80
Sound it out + =
Formation & memory
Break the character into parts you already know.
How 往 is formed
Phono-semantic compound (形声字)
彳 meaning “step” + 王 sound ()
How to remember it
toward · Heisig RSH #758
queue + candlestick
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Words with 往
The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 无往不利 | (idiom) to be successful in every endeavor | |
| 人来人往 | (idiom) people coming and going; bustling with activity | |
| 一往无前 | to advance courageously (idiom); to press forward | |
| 往事如风 | the past is vanished like the wind; gone beyond recall | |
| 人往高处走，水往低处流 | man seeks his way up just as water seeks its way down (idiom); one should constantly striv… | |
| 一往直前 | see 一往無前|一往无前[yi1 wang3 wu2 qian2] | |
| 往复运动 | backwards and forwards action (e.g. of piston or pump); reciprocating motion | |
| 往心里去 | to take sth to heart; to take sth seriously | |
| 一往情深 | deeply attached; devoted | |
| 一反往常 | contrary to what usually happens | |
| 一如往常 | as usual | |
| 往死里 | (coll.) (to beat etc) to death | |
| 直来直往 | blunt; outspoken | |
| 人往高处爬，水往低处流 | see 人往高處走，水往低處流|人往高处走，水往低处流[ren2 wang3 gao1 chu4 zou3 , shui3 wang3 di1 chu4 liu2] | |
| 常来常往 | to visit frequently; to have frequent dealings (with); to see each other often | |
| 往生 | to be reborn; to live in paradise (Buddhism); to die; (after) one's death | |
| 独来独往 | (idiom) to come and go alone; to act independently; (fig.) to keep to oneself; to be a lon… | |
| 独往独来 | see 獨來獨往|独来独往[du2 lai2 du2 wang3] | |
| 往事 | past events; former happenings | |
| 开往 | (of a bus, train etc) to leave for; heading for |
Sound family
Characters sharing the sound component 王 — compare how they read.