方向
direction; orientation
HSK level
- Pinyin
- fāngxiàng
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 4
- Strokes
- 10
- Register
- neutral
- Measure word
- 个
- In episodes
- 3
Stroke order for 方向
方向 is written with 10 strokes (方: 4, 向: 6). The animation replays automatically.
What does 方向 mean?
方向 (fāngxiàng) is the Chinese noun for 'direction' or 'orientation' — the way something faces or moves, used both literally (north, left, the direction of a road) and figuratively (the direction of one's career, research, or life).
It is register-neutral and extremely common. English speakers should note two things: first, when losing physical bearings, Chinese says 分不清方向 ('can't tell the directions') and 迷失方向, where 方向 covers the whole sense of orientation rather than a single compass point; second, figuratively 方向 names a goal or trajectory ('research direction' 研究方向, 'the right direction' 正确的方向), much like English 'a direction' meaning a purpose. Distinguish it from 方面 (aspect, a facet of a topic) — 方向 is where you head, 方面 is which part you examine.
Character by character
Memory hook: 方 (direction) + 向 (toward) = the way you are 'facing toward' — direction.
Hear 方向 in real episodes
方向 appears in 3 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
它们靠太阳来判断方向，还能感知地球的磁场，花两个月飞四千公里，回到墨西哥。
They use the sun to find their direction and can also sense Earth's magnetic field; over two months they fly four thousand kilometers back to Mexico.
No Monarch Butterfly Ever Finishes Its Own Migration — the Trip Takes Four Generations
大的小行星，我们可以提前发现，甚至想办法让它改变方向。
Big asteroids can be spotted in advance — we might even find a way to change their course.
NASA Spots the Moon's Biggest New Crater in Years — a Warning for Future Moon Bases
但方向是清楚的。
But the direction is clear.
MIT Built a Battery You Can Swallow. It Powered a Device Inside a Pig for Three Days, Then Dissolved.
Example sentences
你走错方向了。
Nǐ zǒu cuò fāngxiàng le.
You went the wrong direction.
spoken
太阳从东边升起，这样我们就能分清方向。
Tàiyáng cóng dōngbian shēngqǐ, zhèyàng wǒmen jiù néng fēnqīng fāngxiàng.
The sun rises in the east, so we can tell the directions.
neutral
我觉得公司的发展方向是对的。
Wǒ juéde gōngsī de fāzhǎn fāngxiàng shì duì de.
I think the company's direction of development is right.
neutral
在人生的十字路口，他不知道该往哪个方向走。
Zài rénshēng de shízì lùkǒu, tā bù zhīdào gāi wǎng nǎge fāngxiàng zǒu.
At life's crossroads, he didn't know which direction to take.
written
Common phrases with 方向
Synonyms
方位 is a precise bearing or compass position (东南方位 southeast bearing), more technical. 方向 is the everyday word for direction and also works figuratively; 方位 rarely does.
Don't confuse 方向 with
FAQ
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 方向 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
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