Basic Prepositions in Chinese

Overview

Chinese prepositions (介词, jiècí) -- also called coverbs -- include words like 从 (from), 到 (to), 向 (toward), 对 (to/toward), 跟 (with), 给 (for/to), and 离 (distance from). They come before their objects, forming prepositional phrases that must appear BEFORE the main verb in a sentence.

At the CEFR A1 level, basic prepositions enable you to express directions, companions, recipients, and spatial relationships. The critical rule is position: prepositional phrases precede the verb, unlike English where they often follow it.

Chinese prepositions are sometimes called "coverbs" because many of them can also function as full verbs in other contexts: 给 means both "give" (verb) and "for/to" (preposition), 到 means both "arrive" (verb) and "to/until" (preposition).

How It Works

Preposition	Pinyin	Meaning	Example
从	cóng	from	从北京到上海
到	dào	to/until	到学校去
向	xiàng	toward	向前走
对	duì	toward/to	对我说
跟	gēn	with	跟朋友一起
给	gěi	for/to	给你买的
离	lí	from (distance)	离这里很远
为	wèi	for (purpose)	为你做的

Position: Subject + Prep phrase + Verb

English	Chinese	Note
I go from Beijing to Shanghai	我从北京到上海去	prep phrases before verb
He talks with friends	他跟朋友聊天	跟 before verb
She said to me	她对我说	对 before verb

Examples in Context

Chinese	Pinyin	English	Note
从北京到上海	cóng Běijīng dào Shànghǎi	from Beijing to Shanghai	route
跟朋友一起吃饭	gēn péngyǒu yìqǐ chī fàn	eat with friends	companion
对我说	duì wǒ shuō	say to me	recipient
给妈妈买花	gěi māma mǎi huā	buy flowers for mom	beneficiary
离这里很近	lí zhèlǐ hěn jìn	close to here	distance
向左走	xiàng zuǒ zǒu	walk to the left	direction
从早到晚	cóng zǎo dào wǎn	from morning to night	time range
他跟我不一样。	Tā gēn wǒ bù yíyàng.	He's different from me.	comparison
我为你高兴。	Wǒ wèi nǐ gāoxìng.	I'm happy for you.	purpose/reason
他从中国来。	Tā cóng Zhōngguó lái.	He comes from China.	origin

Common Mistakes

Placing prepositional phrases after the verb

• Wrong: 我去跟朋友。(I go with friends -- English order)
• Right: 我跟朋友去。(I with-friends go.)
• Why: Prepositional phrases must come before the main verb in Chinese.

Confusing 离 and 从

• Wrong: 从这里很远。(from here very far)
• Right: 离这里很远。(distance-from here very far)
• Why: 离 expresses distance between two points; 从 indicates a starting point for movement.

Using 跟 and 和 interchangeably

• Wrong: Always swapping 跟 and 和
• Right: 和 connects nouns (tea and coffee); 跟 also works as a preposition (with someone)
• Why: While they overlap in some uses, 跟 has prepositional functions that 和 lacks.

Practice Tips

• Practice the 从...到 pattern with various starting and ending points: places, times, numbers.
• Use 跟...一起 to describe activities with others: 跟朋友一起看电影, 跟同学一起学习.
• Remember that prepositions come before the verb -- rehearse this by building sentences step by step.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Sentence Structure -- understand word order before adding prepositional phrases