从cóng

从

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Simplified · Today

繁体

Traditional Chinese

The character 從 (cóng, "to follow") is written with two 人 (person) radicals stacked one above the other, a visual formula for one person walking behind another. This composition has remained essentially unchanged since bronze inscriptions, where it already depicted the act of following. As a component it appears in 隨 (to follow along), 從容 (calm, at ease), and 縱 (to release), each carrying the sense of movement or direction. The simplified form 从 preserves only the basic structure while traditional 從 retains the fuller pictographic power of one figure pursuing another through three thousand years.

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Shuowen

从. The oracle bone 从 is a vivid pictograph of two figures walking in line, one directly behind the other, capturing the literal sense of following. The character 从 was originally meant to depict one person following another, expressing the verb “to follow” or “to obey”. The two human figures placed one after the other were chosen to directly illustrate the action of following, making the meaning instantly recognizable.

Pinyin

cóng· HSK 2

从cóng

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin