从 (cóng) means "from, to follow" with HSK 2 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: from
Other meanings:
- to follow
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
The oracle-bone form is two human figures (人) drawn one behind the other, both facing the same direction. The picture is of one person walking after another, so the graph directly depicts following. It is one of the clearest examples of a compound ideograph in the early script.
Form evolution
Bronze and seal forms preserve the two-人 arrangement, though the seal script adds a foot component (止) and a road component (彳) to give the fuller form 從, making the walking explicit. Clerical script stabilised 從 as the orthodox shape for over two millennia. The 1956 simplification restored the ancient two-人 graph as 从, dropping 彳 and 止 entirely.
How the meaning evolved
The original sense 'to follow (a person)' broadened early into 'to comply with', 'to obey', and then into the grammatical function word meaning 'from' (a starting point one follows out of). The secondary senses 'subordinate' and 'secondary' (as in 从犯, accomplice) come from the hierarchy implied by following. In modern Mandarin the prepositional use 从…到… dominates.
Cultural note
Traditional 從 is still the form used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and in calligraphy, so learners reading classical texts or signage in those regions will meet it constantly. The idiom 三从四德 (the three obediences and four virtues), describing Confucian expectations of women, uses the following sense unchanged from antiquity.
Basic info
| Pinyin | cóng |
| Meanings | from, to follow |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 2 |
| Frequency | #52 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 从
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 从 | cóng | from | HSK 2 |
| 从来 | cónglái | Always | HSK 4 |
| 从而 | cóng’ér | thus | HSK 5 |
| 从前 | cóngqián | before | HSK 5 |
| 从此 | cóngcǐ | from then on | HSK 4 |
| 从事 | cóngshì | Be engaged in | HSK 5 |
| 自从 | zìcóng | Since | HSK 5 |
| 从不 | cóngbù | never | HSK 5 |
| 从古到今 | cónggǔdàojīn | from ancient times to now | |
| 从容 | cóngróng | calm, unhurried | HSK 7-9 |
| 从容不迫 | cóngróngbùpò | calm and unhurried | HSK 7-9 |
| 从头 | cóngtóu | from the beginning | HSK 7-9 |
| 服从 | fúcóng | to obey, to submit to | HSK 6 |
On the new HSK 2 exam
Studying for HSK 2? Keep 从 with the rest of your level.
HSK Lord schedules your reviews so each character comes back right before you would forget it. Free to start, and it picks up where you are.
Frequently Asked Questions
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.