自从

The Chinese word 自从 (zìcóng) is a conjunction that means "since" or "from the time that". It is composed of two characters: 自 (zì), which means "self" or "from", and 从 (cóng), which means "follow" or "accompany". Together, these characters convey the idea of "following from" or "starting from".自从 is used to indicate the beginning of a period of time or an event. For example, the sentence 自从我来到中国，我就爱上了这里 (zìcóng wǒ lái dào zhōngguó, wǒ jiù ài shàngle zhèlǐ) means "Since I came to China, I have fallen in love with this place". In this sentence, 自从 is used to indicate the starting point of the speaker's love for China.自从 can also be used to indicate a cause-and-effect relationship. For example, the sentence 自从他开始学习中文，他的汉语水平就提高了很多 (zìcóng tā kāishǐ xuéxí zhōngwén, tā de hànyǔ shuǐpíng jiù tígāo le hěnduō) means "Since he started learning Chinese, his Chinese level has improved a lot". In this sentence, 自从 is used to indicate the cause of the speaker's improved Chinese level.自从 is a versatile conjunction that can be used in a variety of contexts. It is an important word for HSK learners to know, as it is used frequently in both spoken and written Chinese.