从 (cóng): from, through, via, (bound form) to follow, (bound form) to obey
从 (cóng) is a Chinese character meaning “from.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 人 (structural) and 人 (structural). It ranks #98 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 从 one person 人 following another. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- from
- through
- via
- (bound form) to follow
- (bound form) to obey
Etymology & Origin
ideographicOne person 人 following another
Decomposition: ⿰人人 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 从 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 从
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 从来adverb | cóng lái | always | 4 |
| 自从preposition | zì cóng | since (a time) | 5 |
| 从未adverb | cóng wèi | never | 6 |
| 从不adverb | cóng bù | never | 5 |
| 从此adverb | cóng cǐ | from now on | 4 |
| 服从verb | fú cóng | to obey (an order) | 6 |
| 从前noun | cóng qián | previously | 5 |
| 从事verb | cóng shì | to go for | 5 |
| 从小adverb | cóng xiǎo | from childhood | 2 |
| 从中adverb | cóng zhōng | from among them | 4 |
| 从而conjunction | cóng ér | thus | 5 |
| 从业verb | cóng yè | to practice (a trade) | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 从没adverb | cóng méi | never (in the past) |
| 从头adverb | cóng tóu | anew |
| 听从verb | tīng cóng | to listen and obey |
| 从来不 | cóng lái bù | never |
| 从头到尾adverb | cóng tóu dào wěi | from start to finish |
| 遵从verb | zūn cóng | to comply with |
| 从天而降phrase | cóng tiān ér jiàng | (idiom) to fall from the sky |
| 顺从verb | shùn cóng | obedient |
| 无从adverb | wú cóng | not to have access |
| 从犯noun | cóng fàn | accessory to a crime |
| 从容adjective | cóng róng | to go easy |
| 随从verb | suí cóng | to accompany |
| 何去何从phrase | hé qù hé cóng | what course to follow |
| 侍从noun | shì cóng | to serve (an important personage) |
| 无所适从phrase | wú suǒ shì cóng | not knowing which course to follow (idiom) |
从 appears in 100 compound words: 69 as the first character, 24 as the last, and 7 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 从 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (26)
to jump into a well to rescue sb else (idiom); fig. to help others at the risk to oneself
to happen all of a sudden; to happen out of the blue; to come out of nowhere
from start to finish; from beginning to end; from A to Z; from first to last; all the way through
to follow what one's heart desires; to do as one likes; to act at one's pleasure; seventy years old
to jump into a well to rescue sb else (idiom); fig. to help others at the risk to oneself
Showing 12 of 26 idioms containing 从.
Example Sentences
他从小就展现出了非凡的音乐天赋。
Tā cóngxiǎo jiù zhǎnxiàn chū le fēifán de yīnyuè tiānfù.
He showed extraordinary musical talent from a young age.
新春走基层丨从前有座山,山里有座站,站里来了个“0..
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng 丨 cóng qián yǒu zuò shān , shān lǐ yǒu zuò zhàn , zhàn lǐ lái le gè 0 . .
New Year's walk to the grassroots丨Once upon a time, there was a mountain, there was a station in the mountain, and there was a "0..
大看台|从郑钦文到宁忠岩:冲破欧美垄断 镌刻东方印...
dà kàn tái cóng zhèng qīn wén dào nìng zhōng yán : chōng pò ōu měi lǒng duàn 镌 kè dōng fāng yìn . . .
From Zheng Qinwen to Ning Zhongyan: Breaking through the monopoly of Europe and the United States and engraved the Oriental Seal...
从“舞台秀”到“真干活”,北京卫视春晚机器...
cóng wǔ tái xiù dào zhēn gān huó , běi jīng wèi shì chūn wǎn jī qì . . .
From "stage show" to "real work", Beijing TV Spring Festival Gala machine...
(新春走基层)从塔里木河到钱塘江:一颗“石榴籽”的..
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng cóng tǎ lǐ mù hé dào qián táng jiāng yī kē shí 榴 籽 de . .
(Spring Festival Grassroots Report) From the Tarim River to the Qiantang River: The Journey of a "Pomegranate Seed"
新春走基层|最长假期开启:从“赶路”到“享受路”,..
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng zuì cháng jiǎ qī kāi qǐ cóng gǎn lù dào xiǎng shòu lù , . .
Spring Festival Grassroots Report | Longest Holiday Begins: From "Rushing to Destination" to "Savoring the Journey"...
你是从哪个国家来的？
Nǐ shì cóng nǎge guójiā lái de?
What country are you from?
你从来没课还是怎样？
Nǐ cóngláiméi kè háishi zěnyàng?
You never have class or what?!
从大阪到秋田的车费是多少？
Cóng Dàbǎn dào Qiūtián de chēfèi shì duōshao?
What is the fare from Osaka to Akita?
他从什么地方来的？
Tā cóng shénmedìfang lái de?
Where does he come from?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 从 (cóng) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 从 have?
What is the radical of 从?
What are the components of 从?
What are common words containing 从?
What characters sound the same as 从 (cóng)?
Is 从 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 从 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.