Example sentences
qǐng请wǎng往qián前zǒu走。
Please walk forward.
wǎng往zuǒ左biān边kàn看。
Look to the left.
The story behind the character
往
彳, walking, on the left, and on the right a shape that carries only the sound. Xu Shen wrote 往, 之也: to go toward. Direction has been the whole job from the start. 往前走 is walking forward, 往左 is toward the left. The doubled 往往 means "often," literally going and going, the same way over and over.