Chinese word

前不久

Pronunciation

Pinyinqián bù jiǔ

Meaning

  • adverbrecently

Example

我前不久买了这台电脑。wǒ qián bù jiǔ mǎi le zhè tái diàn nǎo

I recently bought this computer.

Illustration for 前不久 (recently)

More examples

他前不久开始学习中文。tā qián bù jiǔ kāi shǐ xué xí zhōng wén

He recently started learning Chinese.

Core concept

Marks a point just behind the present on the time line.

Common phrases

  • 前不久买了qián bù jiǔ mǎi le

    bought recently

  • 前不久发生了qián bù jiǔ fā shēng le

    happened recently

  • 前不久开始学习qián bù jiǔ kāi shǐ xué xí

    started learning recently

Similar words

不久前bù jiǔ qián: Places a past event not far before the present.
最近zuì jìn: Covers a recent period extending from the past toward the present.
刚刚gāng gāng: Places an event just moments ago, extremely close to now.
刚才gāng cái: Points to a particular moment a short while ago.

Definition in Chinese

表示在不久以前发生的事情，作为时间副词使用，强调事件发生在最近的过去。biǎo shì zài bù jiǔ yǐ qián fā shēng de shì qíng zuò wéi shí jiān fù cí shǐ yòng qiáng diào shì jiàn fā shēng zài zuì jìn de guò qù

Word origin

前不久 (qiánbùjiǔ, "not long ago") combines 前 (qián, "before"), 不 (bù, "not"), and 久 (jiǔ, "long"), so it places an event in the recent past.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, it often comes at the start of a sentence before the subject or directly before the verb phrase, making the time frame clear early.

Other meanings

  • not long agoadverb

Opposites

  • 很久以前hén jiú yǐ qiánlong agoadverb
  • 早已záo yǐlong sinceadverb

Word lists with this word