Meaning of 前天
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- the day before yesterday
How to use 前天
前天 is a time word for the day before yesterday. Like other time words, it usually goes before the verb, either at the start of the sentence or right after the subject. Example: 我前天去了北京。(Wǒ qiántiān qù le Běijīng.) I went to Beijing the day before yesterday.
前 (qián) means front or before, and 天 (tiān) means day. 前天 is the day before, one step further back than 昨天 (zuótiān).
Common mistake: Learners often put 前天 at the end of the sentence like English, as in 我去了北京前天. This is wrong. Say 我前天去了北京 instead. Also, do not mix it up with 天前 (tiān qián), which follows a number, as in 三天前 (sān tiān qián), three days ago.
前天 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
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
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- 8
- 9
天 tiān · day · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 前天.
| 今天 | jīntiān | today; the present time; now |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow |
| 昨天 | zuótiān | yesterday |
| 天气 | tiānqì | weather |
| 白天 | báitiān | daytime; during the day |
| 星期天 | xīngqītiān | Sunday |
| 后天 | hòutiān | the day after tomorrow; life after birth (the period in which one develops through experie |
| 半天 | bàntiān | half of the day; a long time |
| 前边 | qiánbian | front; the front side |
| 以前 | yǐqián | before; formerly |
| 面前 | miànqián | in front of; facing |
| 夏天 | xiàtiān | summer |
Questions about 前天
What does 前天 mean?
前天 (qiántiān) means "the day before yesterday" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 前天?
前天 is made of 2 characters: 前 (9 strokes), 天 (4 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 前天 an HSK word?
Yes. 前天 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the word for the day after tomorrow?
It is 后天 (hòutiān). The full set is 前天, 昨天, 今天, 明天, 后天, from two days ago to two days ahead.
Does 前天 always mean exactly two days ago?
Yes. 前天 refers to that specific day. For a vague 'a few days ago', use 前几天 (qián jǐ tiān).