从 (cóng)

从 is a preposition meaning "from." It marks the starting point of a journey, a time span, or a source, and is typically paired with 到 (dào, to) to indicate origin and destination together.

Meanings

[preposition] From (a place, a time, or a source — marking the starting point).

Example Sentences

我从北京来。 Wǒ cóng Běijīng lái. I come from Beijing.

从家到学校要二十分钟。 Cóng jiā dào xuéxiào yào èrshí fēnzhōng. It takes twenty minutes from home to school.

他从早上工作到晚上。 Tā cóng zǎoshang gōngzuò dào wǎnshang. He works from morning to evening.

你从哪里来？ Nǐ cóng nǎlǐ lái? Where do you come from?

Usage Notes

从 always marks the origin (starting point), not the destination. The destination is marked by 到. The common paired structure 从……到…… (from... to...) is used for both spatial movement (from place A to place B) and time spans (from time A to time B). When asking about origin, the question is 从哪里来 (come from where). Do not confuse 从 with 离 (lí, away from/distance from), which measures spatial distance rather than direction of movement.

Collocations or Common Phrases

Phrase	Meaning
从……到……	from... to...
从哪里来	where do you come from
从现在开始	starting from now
从小	from childhood; since young
从来不	never (lit. from always not)

Memory Hook

从 looks like one person following another — following someone from their starting point all the way along.