提前 meaning in English

tíqián

to shift to an earlier date; to do sth ahead of time

HSK 3verb21 strokes

Meaning of 提前

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

tíqián

to shift to an earlier date
to do sth ahead of time
in advance

How to use 提前

提前 is used for moving a plan to an earlier time, or as an adverb meaning "in advance" before another verb. Example: 请提前告诉我。(Qǐng tíqián gàosu wǒ.) Please tell me in advance.

提 (tí) means to lift or raise, and 前 (qián) means front or earlier. Picture lifting a date off the calendar and moving it to the front, so it happens earlier.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 提前 with 以前 (yǐqián). 以前 means "before" or "in the past," while 提前 means doing something earlier than planned, so you say 提前到 (arrive early), not 以前到.

提前 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ们men要yào提tí前qián关guān门mén。

We're closing early.

我wǒ们men提tí前qián吃chī了le午wǔ饭fàn。

We ate lunch early.

她tā提tí前qián一yī小xiǎo时shí完wán成chéng了le工gōng作zuò。

She finished her work an hour in advance.

提tí前qián感gǎn谢xiè你nǐ们men的de合hé作zuò。

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

有yǒu些xiē学xué生shēng会huì提tí前qián参cān加jiā考kǎo试shì。

Some students take exams ahead of schedule.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

提 tí · to carry · 12 strokes

前 qián · front · 9 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 提前.

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
提到	tídào	to mention; to raise (a subject)
提出	tíchū	to raise (an issue); to propose
提高	tígāo	to raise; to increase
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

Questions about 提前

What does 提前 mean?

提前 (tíqián) means "to shift to an earlier date; to do sth ahead of time" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 提前?

提前 is made of 2 characters: 提 (12 strokes), 前 (9 strokes). That is 21 strokes in total.

Is 提前 an HSK word?

Yes. 提前 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the opposite of 提前?

The usual opposite is 推迟 (tuīchí), to postpone or delay. For example, 会议推迟了 means the meeting was postponed, and 会议提前了 means it was moved earlier.

How do I say how much earlier with 提前?

Put the time amount right after 提前. For example, 提前十分钟到 (tíqián shí fēnzhōng dào) means to arrive ten minutes early.