从
from; through; via; (bound form) to follow; (bound form) to obey; (bound form) to engage in (an activity); (used before a negative) ever; (bound form) (Taiwan pr. [zong4]) retainer; attendant; (bound form) (Taiwan pr. [zong4]) assistant; auxiliary; subordinate; (bound form) (Taiwan pr. [zong4]) related by common paternal grandfather or earlier ancestor
4 strokes
Dict coverage rank #656 U+4ECE
How 从 is formed
Ideographic compound (会意字)
One person 人 following another
components: 人 ×2
How to remember it
follow · Heisig RSH #846
人 person — as a component also called: assembly line
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Characters built with 从 as their sound component
These characters all use 从 (cóng) as their phonetic component — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 从 sound component | cóng | from, by, since, whence, through |
| 纵 | zòng | to indulge in, to give free reign to |
| 丛 | cóng | bush, shrub; thicket; collection |
| 耸 | sǒng | to excite, to urge; to raise; to shrug; lofty, towering |
| 枞 | cōng | fir tree |
| 怂 | sǒng | to arouse, to incite, to instigate |
| 疭 | zòng | clonic convulsions |
| 苁 | cōng | a medicinal herb; Boschniakia glabra |
Words containing 从
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 力不从心 | lì bù cóng xīn | (idiom) to lack the ability to do what one would wish |
| 无从下手 | wú cóng xià shǒu | not know where to start |
| 名从主人 | míng cóng zhǔ rén | (idiom) to refer to sth by the name its owners use; to refer to a place by the name its in… |
| 太阳从西边出来 | tài yáng cóng xī biān chū lái | lit. the sun rises in the west (idiom); fig. hell freezes over; pigs can fly |
| 从化区 | Cóng huà Qū | Conghua, a district of Guangzhou City 廣州市|广州市[Guang3 zhou1 Shi4], Guangdong |
| 三从四德 | sān cóng sì dé | Confucian moral injunctions for women, namely: obey in turn three men father, husband and … |
| 从业人员 | cóng yè rén yuán | employee; person employed in a trade or profession |
| 病从口入 | bìng cóng kǒu rù | Illness enters by the mouth (idiom). Mind what you eat!; fig. A loose tongue may cause a l… |
| 从来不 | cóng lái bù | never |
| 从江县 | Cóng jiāng Xiàn | Congjiang, a county in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture 黔東南苗族侗族自治州|黔东南苗族侗族自… |
| 一部二十四史，不知从何说起 | yī bù èr shí sì shǐ , bù zhī cóng hé shuō qǐ | It's a long and intricate story, I hardly know where to start. |
| 从里到外 | cóng lǐ dào wài | from the inside to the outside; through and through; thoroughly |
| 从业者 | cóng yè zhě | people in the (aforementioned) industry; practitioner; industry professional |
| 从不 | cóng bù | never |
| 从子 | cóng zǐ | paternal uncle's son; nephew |
| 从头到尾 | cóng tóu dào wěi | from start to finish; from head to tail; the whole (thing) |
| 人从 | rén cóng | retinue; hangers-on |
| 从头 | cóng tóu | anew; from the start |
| 从中 | cóng zhōng | from among them; from it |
| 从头到脚 | cóng tóu dào jiǎo | from head to foot |