Meaning of 前
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- front
- forward
- ahead
- first
- top (followed by a number)
- future
- ago
- before
How to use 前
前 (qián) marks position in front, or time before. It often follows a time word to mean "ago" or "before", as in 三天前 (sān tiān qián) three days ago. Example: 学校前有一家书店。(Xuéxiào qián yǒu yì jiā shūdiàn.) There is a bookstore in front of the school.
Picture the top of 前 (qián) as two little horns on a boat's bow, with 月 and 刂 (a knife) below, like a boat cutting forward through the water. Whatever cuts ahead is in front.
Common mistake: Learners often put 前 before the time word in English order, saying 前三天 when they mean "three days ago". 三天前 (sān tiān qián) means three days ago, while 前三天 (qián sān tiān) means the first three days.
前 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
前 qián · front · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 前.
| 前天 | qiántiān | the day before yesterday |
| 前边 | qiánbian | front; the front side |
| 以前 | yǐqián | before; formerly |
| 面前 | miànqián | in front of; facing |
| 前年 | qiánnián | the year before last |
| 目前 | mùqián | at the present time; currently |
| 前面 | qiánmiàn | ahead; in front |
| 前进 | qiánjìn | to go forward; to forge ahead |
| 前往 | qiánwǎng | to leave for; to proceed towards; to go to |
| 眼前 | yǎnqián | before one's eyes; now |
| 提前 | tíqián | to shift to an earlier date; to do sth ahead of time |
| 从前 | cóngqián | previously; formerly |
Questions about 前
What does 前 mean?
前 (qián) means "front; forward" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 前?
前 is made of 1 character: 前 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 前 an HSK word?
Yes. 前 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 以前 (yǐqián) and 前?
以前 can stand alone to mean "in the past" or "formerly", as in 我以前住在北京 (Wǒ yǐqián zhù zài Běijīng) I used to live in Beijing. 前 usually needs a word in front of it, like 三年前 (sān nián qián) three years ago.
How do I say "the day before yesterday" and "the year before last"?
Use 前天 (qiántiān) for the day before yesterday and 前年 (qiánnián) for the year before last. Here 前 means one step further back than 昨天 (zuótiān) yesterday or 去年 (qùnián) last year.