HSK · Level 11
135 words
Chinese word
朝着
Pronunciation
Pinyincháo zhe
Meaning
- prepositiontoward
Example
他朝着我点头。tā cháo zhe wǒ diǎn tóu
He nodded toward me.
More examples
鸟群朝着南方飞去。niǎo qún cháo zhe nán fāng fēi qù
The flock of birds flew toward the south.
Core concept
The target is the point that an action faces as it unfolds.
Common phrases
朝着南方飞去cháo zhe nán fāng fēi qù
fly toward the south
朝着出口移动cháo zhe chū kǒu yí dòng
move toward the exit
朝着对方挥手cháo zhe duì fāng huī shǒu
wave toward the other person
Similar words
向xiàng: Marks the direction, person, or goal toward which an action, gaze, or intention is directed.
朝cháo: Marks the direction or target toward which an action or gaze is directed, including in writing.
对duì: Marks the person or target toward which an action or attitude is directed.
朝向cháo xiàng: Marks the direction or goal toward which an action or movement is oriented.
Definition in Chinese
作为介词，表示朝向某一目标或方向的关系，常与代词或名词连用，并位于动词前标示动作的指向。zuò wéi jiè cí biǎo shì cháo xiàng mǒu yí mù biāo huò fāng xiàng de guān xì cháng yǔ dài cí huò míng cí lián yòng bìng wèi yú dòng cí qián biāo shì dòng zuò de zhǐ xiàng
Word origin
朝 (cháo, "face toward") supplies the directional meaning, while 着 (zhe, "grammatical marker") helps form a preposition that presents the target before the action.
Usage tips
- In Chinese word order, this preposition comes before the action verb, unlike the common English pattern in which the direction phrase follows the verb.