Chinese word

之前

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhī qián

Meaning

  • adverbbefore

Example

我之前去过北京。wǒ zhī qián qù guò běi jīng

I have been to Beijing before.

Illustration for 之前 (before)

More examples

出发之前请确认行李。chū fā zhī qián qǐng què rèn xíng lǐ

Please check your luggage before departing.

Core concept

A position marker on a timeline that places a past experience or an early action before a chosen point.

Common phrases

  • 之前去过zhī qián qù guò

    have been before

  • 出发之前chū fā zhī qián

    before departure

  • 见面之前jiàn miàn zhī qián

    before meeting

Similar words

以前yǐ qián: In an earlier period than now, often referring to a former situation or past time.
曾经céng jīng: Describing an experience or action that happened at least once in the past.
事先shì xiān: Before an action or event, with preparations or required procedures done ahead of time.
先xiān: First in the order of actions, with one step happening before the others.

Definition in Chinese

表示相对于某一参照点更早发生的情况或动作，既可指过去的经验，也可指时间顺序上的先行，用法较为灵活。biǎo shì xiāng duì yú mǒu yì cān zhào diǎn gèng zǎo fā shēng de qíng kuàng huò dòng zuò jì kě zhǐ guò qù de jīng yàn yě kě zhǐ shí jiān shùn xù shàng de xiān xíng yòng fǎ jiào wéi líng huó

Word origin

The modern time word 之前 (zhīqián, "before") is built from 之 (zhī, "a classical grammatical element") and 前 (qián, "front; earlier"), whose spatial sense develops naturally into temporal priority.

Usage tips

  • With a future time or deadline as its anchor, it can mark an action completed in advance, so it is not limited to recalling something in the past.

Other meanings

  • ahead of timeadverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word