从 (cóng) — from; since

从 (cóng)

从 marks the starting point of a journey, a period of time, or a sequence of events. It is placed before the starting location or time, and the destination or end point usually follows later in the sentence.

Meanings

1. [preposition] From (a place). Marks the point of departure or origin in space.
2. [preposition] From; since (a time). Marks the starting point of a time period.

Example Sentences

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

从这里到学校要走二十分钟。 Cóng zhèlǐ dào xuéxiào yào zǒu èrshí fēnzhōng. It takes twenty minutes to walk from here to school.

他从早上九点工作到晚上六点。 Tā cóng zǎoshang jiǔ diǎn gōngzuò dào wǎnshang liù diǎn. He works from nine in the morning to six in the evening.

从现在开始，我要每天练习汉语。 Cóng xiànzài kāishǐ, wǒ yào měitiān liànxí Hànyǔ. Starting from now, I will practice Chinese every day.

Collocations

Memory Hook

从 is made of two 人 (person) characters — one person following another. Picture someone following a path from a starting point: that follower is always moving 从 (from) somewhere toward somewhere else.