How to Write 从 (cóng) — Meaning “From; since; to follow.”

Imagine two people walking together, one right behind the other — the first person is the 'from' point and the second person is following. This visual of a pair of people helps you remember that 从 means 'from' or 'to follow'.

Write the left 人 first with a left-falling stroke and a right-falling stroke, then write the right 人 the same way. Both halves should be the same size and shape — a common mistake is making the left part look like the radical 亻, but both are full 人 characters.

人 is a single person character and means 'person', while 亻 is a radical form used only in compound characters like 他 (tā, he). In contrast, 从 contains two full 人 characters and means 'from' or 'follow', so it is visually wider and has a completely different meaning.

从 is commonly used as a preposition meaning 'from' (e.g., 从家到学校 'from home to school') or 'since' (e.g., 从今天起 'from today on'). It also appears in common words like 从前 (once upon a time) and 从小 (since childhood), which are very frequent in daily conversation and stories.

Common words containing 从 include: 从前 (cóng qián) — Once upon a time; formerly.; 从来 (cóng lái) — Always; all along; (with negative) never.; 从小 (cóng xiǎo) — From childhood; since one was little..