Chinese Conversation · Level 1
86 words
Chinese word
从
Pronunciation
Pinyincóng
Meaning
- prepositionfrom
Example
我从昨天开始学中文。wǒ cóng zuó tiān kāi shǐ xué zhōng wén
I started learning Chinese yesterday.
More examples
从这里出发，我们去公园。cóng zhè lǐ chū fā wǒ men qù gōng yuán
Starting from here, we will go to the park.
Core concept
A line begins at a marked point and extends away from it.
Common phrases
从这里cóng zhè lǐ
from here
从昨天cóng zuó tiān
since yesterday
Similar words
到dào: Shows where an action or change ends or reaches.
Definition in Chinese
表示动作、时间或地点等的起点，作为介词用于引出起始点或来源。biǎo shì dòng zuò shí jiān huò dì diǎn děng de qí diǎn zuò wéi jiè cí yòng yú yǐn chū qí shǐ diǎn huò lái yuán
Word origin
The older form of 从 (cóng, "from") shows one person following another, and this idea of following later extended to a starting point or source.
Usage tips
- English since often suggests that a period continues to the present, while 从 (cóng, "from") only identifies its starting point.
Opposites
- 到dàotopreposition