沿着 / 顺着 yánzhe / shùnzhe

沿着 / 顺着（yánzhe / shùnzhe）means “沿着 / 顺着 'along / following' a path or route”. 沿着 and 顺着 both mean 'along / following' a line, road, or edge, placed before the path noun and then the verb of motion: 沿着河走 'walk along the river'. Formation: 沿着 / 顺着 + 路径（名词）+ 动词

沿着 / 顺着 'along / following' a path or route

HSK5

Formation

沿着 / 顺着 + 路径（名词）+ 动词

Explanation

沿着 and 顺着 both mean 'along / following' a line, road, or edge, placed before the path noun and then the verb of motion: 沿着河走 'walk along the river'. 沿着 stresses tracing a fixed line; 顺着 stresses going with the natural direction and can extend to abstract 'following (a clue, logic)'.

Examples

我们沿着河边走。
wǒmen yánzhe hébiān zǒu.
We walked along the riverside.
顺着这条路一直走就到了。
shùnzhe zhè tiáo lù yìzhí zǒu jiù dào le.
Just keep going along this road and you'll arrive.

Note

Often interchangeable for physical paths. 顺着 also fits abstract 'follow' (顺着思路).

FAQ

沿着 / 顺着 — what does it mean and how is it used?

沿着 / 顺着 'along / following' a path or route. 沿着 and 顺着 both mean 'along / following' a line, road, or edge, placed before the path noun and then the verb of motion: 沿着河走 'walk along the river'. 沿着 stresses tracing a fixed line; 顺着 stresses going with the natural direction and can extend to abstract 'following (a clue, logic)'.

沿着 / 顺着 — how do you form it?

沿着 / 顺着 + 路径（名词）+ 动词

沿着 / 顺着 — any usage notes?

Often interchangeable for physical paths. 顺着 also fits abstract 'follow' (顺着思路).

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