How to Say “Towards” with 向 (xiàng)

向 (xiàng) means “towards.” Like 往, it goes before the verb in the frame 向 + Direction / Person + Verb, and it can mark a plain direction: 向前看 (“look ahead”), 向右转 (“turn right”). But the thing that makes 向 worth its own page is that it aims an action at a reference point without any movement toward it, and that reference point is very often a person: 向我招手 (“wave at me”), 向他道歉 (“apologize to him”), 这件事你应该向老板汇报 (“you should report this to the boss”).

This is exactly where it splits from 往. 往 needs real, physical motion toward a place (往前走, 往北开); you can't 往 a person and you can't 往 a non-motion verb. 向 has no such limit: the action just points at its target. So “wave at me” is 向我招手, never 往我招手, and “apologize to him” is 向他道歉, never 往他道歉. When the target is a person, or the verb isn't about moving (道歉, 招手, 汇报, 点头, 表示感谢), reach for 向.

向 can still describe genuine motion when you want a slightly more formal flavour than 往: 老师正向我们走来 (“the teacher is walking towards us”). With a direction word, 向 and 往 overlap (向前走 ≈ 往前走), but only 向 extends to people and feelings, so it's the safer choice the moment a person is involved.

向 has a second, surprising job: it can mean “from.” With verbs of learning, asking and borrowing, Chinese frames the source person as a target you turn toward: 向他学习 (“learn from him”), 我不喜欢向朋友借钱 (“I don't like to borrow money from friends”), 我们是来向你请教的 (“we've come to ask your advice”). English says “from,” but because you're directing the request at that person, Chinese says 向, not 从. Keep this short list in mind: 学习, 借, 求助, 请教 all take 向 for the person you get something from.