Expressing direction with 朝, 冲 and 由
We use the prepositions 朝, 冲 and 由 to indicate direction of an action. We use them to express “to where”, “towards who”, or “from where”.
The preposition 朝
The preposition 朝 
indicates where an action is going.
indicates where an action is going.Scheme
subject
朝
...
predicate
After 朝 there may be words that denote:
1) a place;
2) a specific direction. For example: to the right, to the west, forward;
3) people or animals.
Examples
他朝我挥了挥手
He waved at me
tā cháo wǒ huī le huī shǒu
火车朝上海开去
This train goes to Shanghai
huǒchē cháo shànghǎi kāiqù
从这里朝北走
Go north from here
cóng zhèlǐ cháo běi zǒu
The preposition 冲
We use the preposition 冲 to indicate to whom an action is directed. It should be followed by a noun referring to a person.
to indicate to whom an action is directed. It should be followed by a noun referring to a person.Scheme
subject
who 1
朝
object
who 2
predicate
Examples
原来他在冲着一个老头儿笑呢
It turns out he was smiling at an old man
yuánlái tā zài chòngzhe yí ge lǎotóur xiào ne
看见妈妈回来了，孩子冲妈妈跑了过去
When he saw his mother coming back, the child ran towards her
kànjiàn māma huílai le, háizi chòng māma pǎo le guòqu
刚才我在路上看见了马丁，他冲我点了点头就急忙走过去了
I just saw Martin on the road. He nodded at me and walked away
gāngcái wǒ zài lùshang kànjiàn le mǎdīng, tā chòng wǒ diǎn le diǎn tóu jiù jímáng zǒuguòqu le
The preposition 由
We use the preposition 由 to describes the beginning of an action.
We can state it before an adverb of place. The adverb of place answers the question “from where?” and indicates the place where an action began.
to describes the beginning of an action.
We can state it before an adverb of place. The adverb of place answers the question “from where?” and indicates the place where an action began. Scheme
subject
由
adverb of place
from where?
predicate
Examples
明天由上海出发
We depart from Shanghai tomorrow
jíngtiān yóu shànghǎi chūfā
由广州而开车
to drive from Guangzhou
yóu guǎngzhōu ér kāichē
Sometimes we may state 由 before an adverb of time to indicate the time of the beginning of an action. The adverb of time answers the question “since when?”.
Scheme
subject
由
adverb of time
since when?
predicate
Examples
我们由上个星期开始准备新的规定
We have been preparing for the new regulations since last week
wǒmen yóu shàng ge xīngqī kāishǐ zhǔnbèi xīn de guīdìng
由今天起，就把我家当你家吧
From today onwards, my home is your home
yóu jīntiān qǐ, jiù bǎ wǒ jiā dàng nǐ jiā ba
Learn more