从 — from; through; via
from; through; via; to follow; to obey; to engage in; ever
- Pinyin
- cóng · Cóng
- Strokes
- 4
- HSK level
- HSK 2
- Handwriting
- recognition only
This character has more than one reading — cóng, Cóng — and the pronunciation depends on the word it appears in. The list below gives the syllabus reading for each word.
How to write 从: 4 strokes
Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. The syllabus asks you to recognise this character rather than write it by hand.
Words with 从 in the HSK syllabus: 20
Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.
- 从cóngfrom; through; via; to follow; to obey; to engage inHSK 2
- 从小cóngxiǎofrom childhood; from a young ageHSK 2
- 从此cóngcǐfrom now on; since then; henceforthHSK 4
- 从来cóngláialways; at all times; neverHSK 4
- 从中cóngzhōngfrom among them; from itHSK 4
- 从不cóng bùneverHSK 5
- 从而cóng’érthus; therebyHSK 5
- 从前cóngqiánpreviously; formerly; once upon a timeHSK 5
- 从事cóngshìto go for; to engage in; to undertake; to deal withHSK 5
- 自从zìcóngsince; ever sinceHSK 5
- 从未cóngwèineverHSK 6
- 从业cóngyèto practiceHSK 6
- 服从fúcóngto obey; to comply; to deferHSK 6
- 从容cóngróngto go easy; unhurried; calmHSK 7–9
- 从容不迫cóngróng-búpòcalm; unruffledHSK 7–9
- 从头cóngtóuanew; from the startHSK 7–9
- 力不从心lìbùcóngxīnto lack the ability to do what one would wishHSK 7–9
- 顺从shùncóngobedient; to comply; to submit; to deferHSK 7–9
- 听从tīngcóngto listen and obey; to comply with; to heedHSK 7–9
- 无从wúcóngnot to have accessHSK 7–9
Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.