往 (wǎng): to go (in a direction), to, towards
往 (wǎng) is a Chinese character meaning “to go (in a direction).” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 彳 (semantic) and 王 (phonetic). It ranks #369 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 往 step. Its radical form 彳 (step) appears in many related characters such as 很 (hěn, very), 得 (dé, to obtain), 待 (dài, to wait).
Definitions
- to go (in a direction)
- to
- towards
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 往 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 往
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 交往verb | jiāo wǎng | to associate (with) | 5 |
| 前往verb | qián wǎng | to leave for | 5 |
| 以往noun | yǐ wǎng | in the past | 6 |
| 往后noun | wǎng hòu | from now on | 6 |
| 往往adverb | wǎng wǎng | usually | 4 |
| 来往verb | lái wǎng | to come and go | 6 |
| 向往verb | xiàng wǎng | to yearn for | 6 |
| 往来verb | wǎng lái | dealings | 6 |
| 往返verb | wǎng fǎn | to go back and forth | 5 |
| 往年noun | wǎng nián | in former years | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 通往verb | tōng wǎng | to lead to |
| 往常noun | wǎng cháng | usual |
| 往事noun | wǎng shì | past events |
| 一如既往phrase | yī rú jì wǎng | (idiom) just as in the past |
| 过往verb | guò wǎng | to come and go |
| 赶往 | gǎn wǎng | to hurry to (somewhere) |
| 往日noun | wǎng rì | former days |
| 勇往直前phrase | yǒng wǎng zhí qián | to advance bravely |
| 独来独往phrase | dú lái dú wǎng | (idiom) to be a loner |
| 往昔noun | wǎng xī | the past |
| 逃往 | táo wǎng | to run away |
| 既往不咎phrase | jì wǎng bù jiù | to forget and not bear recriminations (idiom) |
| 驶往 | shǐ wǎng | (of a vehicle, boat etc) to travel to |
| 人来人往 | rén lái rén wǎng | (idiom) people coming and going |
| 一往无前phrase | yī wǎng wú qián | to advance courageously (idiom) |
往 appears in 77 compound words: 40 as the first character, 34 as the last, and 26 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 往 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (21)
one's thoughts fly to a longed-for place or person; to long for; infatuated
Showing 12 of 21 idioms containing 往.
Example Sentences
学习往字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。
xué xí wǎng zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Mastering the character "往" requires repeated practice to write it neatly.
告别医院家庭来回往返, 医养结合:养老与治病两不误
gào bié yī yuàn jiā tíng lái huí wǎng fǎn , yī yǎng jié gě : yǎng lǎo yǔ zhì bìng liǎng bù wù
Farewell to the back and forth of the hospital family, the combination of medical care and nursing care: both pension and treatment are correct
...开绿灯也没用?美官员证实:辉达H200销往中国数量“目前为零”
. . . kāi lǜ dēng yě méi yòng ? měi guān yuán zhèng shí : huī dá H 2 0 0 xiāo wǎng zhōng guó shǔ liàng mù qián wéi líng
... It's useless to give the green light? U.S. officials confirm: Nvidia H200 sold to China is "currently zero"
016“光忠”号导弹护卫舰启程前往澳大利亚参加2026年卡卡杜多边海上联合...
0 1 6 guāng zhōng hào dǎo dàn hù wèi jiàn qǐ chéng qián wǎng ào dà lì yà cān jiā 2 0 2 6 nián kǎ kǎ dù duō biān hǎi shàng lián gě . . .
016 The missile frigate "Guangzhong" departed for Australia to participate in the 2026 Kakadu Multilateral Maritime Alliance...
商业船舶正从全球各地驶往伊朗港口
shāng yè chuán bó zhèng cóng quán qiú gè dì shǐ wǎng yī lǎng gǎng kǒu
Commercial ships are sailing from all over the world to Iranian ports
...州烟火气·黔味中国年”天眼纪录·回家|开往春天..
. . . zhōu yān huǒ qì 黔 wèi zhōng guó nián tiān yǎn jì lù huí jiā kāi wǎng chūn tiān . .
... State fireworks Qianwei Chinese New Year "Sky Eye Record, Home|Drive to spring:
不好意思，请问这条路通往地铁站吗？
Bù hǎoyìsi, qǐngwèn zhè tiáo lù tōngwǎng dìtiězhàn ma?
Excuse me, but is this the right way to the subway station?
请问有没有飞往纽约的不停站航班？
Qǐngwèn yǒuméiyǒu fēi wǎng Niǔyuē de bù tíngzhàn hángbān?
Is there a nonstop flight to New York?
这条路是不是直接通往普拉多博物馆？
Zhè tiáo lù shìbùshì zhíjiē tōngwǎng Pǔlā duō bówùguǎn?
Is this the direct way to the Prado?
哪条路通往市政厅？
Nǎ tiáo lù tōngwǎng shìzhèngtīng?
Which road goes to city hall?
Character Family
彳 Radical Family — Characters sharing the step radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 往 (wǎng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 往 and 来?
How many strokes does 往 have?
What is the radical of 往?
What are the components of 往?
What are common words containing 往?
What characters sound the same as 往 (wǎng)?
Is 往 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 往 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.