Chinese symbol for “follow”
由
yóu
to follow; from; because of; due to; by; via; through
The closest CC-CEDICT match for follow is 由 (yóu), defined as: to follow; from; because of; due to; by; via; through; (before a noun and a verb) it is for ... to ....
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “follow”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 随 (隨) | suí | to follow; to comply with |
| 跟随 (跟隨) | gēn suí | to follow |
| 遵循 | zūn xún | to follow; to abide by; to comply with |
| 顺着 (順著) | shùn zhe | to follow; following |
| 追随 (追隨) | zhuī suí | to follow; to accompany |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 由.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 由于 (由於) | yóu yú | due to; as a result of |
| 自由 | zì yóu | freedom; liberty; free; unrestricted |
| 理由 | lǐ yóu | reason; grounds |
| 由此 | yóu cǐ | hereby; from this |
| 经由 (經由) | jīng yóu | via |
| 言论自由 (言論自由) | yán lùn zì yóu | freedom of speech |
See also: Japanese symbol for “follow”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.