Chinese word

事先

Pronunciation

Pinyinshì xiān

Meaning

  • adverbin advance

Example

你应该事先告诉我时间。nǐ yīng gāi shì xiān gào sù wǒ shí jiān

You should tell me the time in advance.

Illustration for 事先 (in advance)

More examples

请你事先准备好相关材料。qǐng nǐ shì xiān zhǔn bèi hǎo xiāng guān cái liào

Please prepare the relevant materials in advance.

Core concept

A preparation or message is already in place before the event it belongs to.

Common phrases

  • 事先准备shì xiān zhǔn bèi

    prepare in advance

  • 事先通知shì xiān tōng zhī

    notify in advance

  • 事先安排shì xiān ān pái

    arrange in advance

Similar words

提前tí qián: Before the usual or arranged time for something to happen.
预先yù xiān: Ahead of time, with preparations or other steps taken before they are needed.

Definition in Chinese

表示在具体事件或时间之前已经完成的准备或提醒，着重指出动作在时间上先于事件发生，作副词使用以说明先行性。biǎo shì zài jù tǐ shì jiàn huò shí jiān zhī qián yǐ jīng wán chéng de zhǔn bèi huò tí xǐng zhuó zhòng zhǐ chū dòng zuò zài shí jiān shàng xiān yú shì jiàn fā shēng zuò fù cí shǐ yòng yǐ shuō míng xiān xíng xìng

Word origin

事先 (shìxiān, "in advance") combines 事 (shì, "matter") with 先 (xiān, "first"), placing an action before the relevant matter occurs.

Usage tips

  • It is useful when a speaker stresses that information or arrangements should not be left until the last moment, rather than merely saying that one event happened earlier.

Opposites

Word lists with this word