前往 (qián wǎng) — to proceed to; to go to (a destination, formal) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

前往 (qiánwǎng) is a formal verb meaning 'to proceed to / go to' a place, used in writing and official notices. It is more formal than 去 and emphasizes deliberate travel toward a destination, like 赴.

verb

to proceed toto go to (a destination, formal)

Examples

前往。
Tā men míng tiān qián wǎng běi jīng kāi huì.
They will proceed to Beijing for a meeting tomorrow.
前往。
Qǐng nín qián wǎng bàn gōng shì zhǎo wáng jīng lǐ.
Please go to the office to see Manager Wang.
前往。
Wǒ men qián wǎng jī chǎng jiē péng you.
We are going to the airport to pick up a friend.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

前qiánforward

The word joins 前, 'forward', and 往, 'go', for moving toward a place.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

止止zhǐfoot
舟舟zhōuboat

In the older form of 前, 止 (foot) and 舟 (boat) showed a foot on a boat moving forward; in the current 前 those parts are shortened.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

止止zhǐfoot

Sound part声符shēngfú

王

王wáng往wǎng

Same sound today

The form that became 往 paired 止, a foot, with 王 for the sound; a stepping part was later added, and the right side changed.

Appears in

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