朝

• 拼音: cháo
• 汉字拆解: 朝 = compound of components including 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), originally depicting early morning; the directional meaning derives from facing the emperor at court

含义

Towards; facing. A preposition indicating direction, or a verb meaning to face a certain direction.

As a preposition, 朝 means towards or in the direction of, and is often interchangeable with 向 or 往. As a verb, it means to face or look towards. Note that 朝 has another pronunciation (zhāo) meaning morning, but the cháo pronunciation is specifically for direction and facing.

例句

1. 他朝我笑了笑，然后走了。
2. 这个房间的窗户朝南。
3. 她朝学校的方向跑去。

用法指南

语境: direction, everyday, description

语气: neutral

正确说法

• 请朝前面走，不要回头。(Please walk forward, don't look back.)
• 这棵树朝着太阳的方向生长。(This tree grows towards the direction of the sun.)

错误说法

• 我朝了他说话。(Don't use 朝 with 了 as a completed action for facing — say 朝他说话 directly without 了)

起源与历史

Originally meant the morning court audience where officials faced the emperor. The character combines components depicting the time between moon and sun. The directional sense developed from facing the emperor at court.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal