往

wǎng

go, depart; past, formerly

Meaning

Spatial Motion: To go, depart, or head toward a destination.
Temporal: The past; formerly (e.g., 往昔, 往事).
Social/Reciprocal: In the compound 往來, denotes social intercourse, traffic, or mutual dealings.

Grammar and usage

Full Verb: Used as a primary predicate meaning "to go to [place/person]."
Directional Marker: Functions as a preposition meaning "toward," "bound for," or "to." In early texts, the distinction between its use as a main verb and a directional marker can be fluid.

Distinctions

Contrast with 去: While both involve movement, 往 typically emphasizes the destination or direction of movement, whereas 去 often emphasizes the act of leaving or moving away from a point.

History and forms

Semantic variant: 枉 (U+5F83).

Translator notes

When encountering 枉 (U+5F83), note that it typically means "crooked," "bent," or "to suffer injustice." If these meanings are logically inconsistent with the context, evaluate it as a variant for 往 ("go/depart"). The distinction between destination (往) and deviation (枉) is critical.

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.