Chinese word

思前想后

Pronunciation

Pinyinsī qián xiǎng hòu

Meaning

  • idiomthink things over

Example

他在签合同前一直在思前想后。tā zài qiān hé tóng qián yì zhí zài sī qián xiǎng hòu

He kept thinking things over before signing the contract.

Illustration for 思前想后 (think things over)

More examples

面对职业选择，她思前想后很久才做出决定。miàn duì zhí yè xuǎn zé tā sī qián xiǎng hòu hěn jiǔ cái zuò chū jué dìng

Faced with a career choice, she thought things over for a long time before making a decision.

Core concept

A mind turns a choice from side to side, testing its likely gains, risks, and consequences before action.

Common phrases

  • 反复思前想后fǎn fù sī qián xiǎng hòu

    think things over repeatedly

  • 思前想后地考虑sī qián xiǎng hòu dì kǎo lǜ

    consider carefully

Similar words

深思熟虑shēn sī shú lǜ: Thinks deeply about an issue and its details before reaching a judgment.
权衡利弊quán héng lì bì: Weighs the benefits and drawbacks of an action before reaching a conclusion.
三思而后行sān sī ér hòu xíng: Thinks several times before beginning to act.
谨慎行事jǐn shèn xíng shì: Acts and makes decisions carefully, avoiding rash choices.

Definition in Chinese

在做决定或采取行动前，反复考虑利弊和后果，态度谨慎。zài zuò jué dìng huò cái qǔ xíng dòng qián fǎn fù kǎo lǜ lì bì hé hòu guǒ tài dù jǐn shèn

Word origin

思前想后 (sīqiánxiǎnghòu, "think before and after") joins 思 (sī, "think") + 前 (qián, "before") + 想 (xiǎng, "consider") + 后 (hòu, "after") to picture careful thought around an action.

Usage tips

  • In conversational Chinese, this four-character idiom often sounds more formal than ordinary spoken phrasing, so it is useful when describing a person's cautious decision process.

Other meanings

  • ponderidiom
  • deliberateidiom

Opposites

Word lists with this word