向来 / 一向【xiànglái / yíxiàng】

向来 and 一向 go before the verb or adjective and describe a habit or a trait that has held all along, from some point in the past to now. They describe what someone or something is like, rather than one event.

The two words

The two are close. 一向 is the more common and works in speech and writing. 向来 is a touch more formal and turns up most with a negative – 向来不, 向来没有 – or with 都 after it.

一向 or 一直

一直 covers a stretch of time and can describe a single ongoing action, take an end point, or point into the future. 一向 and 向来 only describe a long-standing habit or trait, so none of that works with them.

• × 我一向等到十点 → 我一直等到十点
• × 下个月我一向在北京 → 下个月我一直在北京