Chinese word

此前

Pronunciation

Pinyincǐ qián

Meaning

  • adverbbefore

Example

我此前没见过他。wǒ cǐ qián méi jiàn guò tā

I had never met him before.

Illustration for 此前 (before)

More examples

法院此前已审理此案。fǎ yuàn cǐ qián yǐ shén lǐ cǐ àn

The court had already heard this case before.

Core concept

Places a past time or situation on the earlier side of a chosen reference point.

Common phrases

  • 此前就任cǐ qián jiù rèn

    previously take office

  • 此前离开cǐ qián lí kāi

    leave beforehand

  • 此前担任cǐ qián dān rèn

    previously serve

Similar words

以前yǐ qián: Points to a time or condition earlier than now in common everyday use.
之前zhī qián: Points to an earlier point before a specific time or event.
曾经céng jīng: Shows that something happened or was true at some time in the past.
从前cóng qián: Points to the distant past in a reflective or storytelling setting.

Definition in Chinese

用来指某一参照时点之前的那段时间或先前情形，作副词使用，偏正式书面语色彩。yòng lái zhǐ mǒu yì cān zhào shí diǎn zhī qián de nà duàn shí jiān huò xiān qián qíng xíng zuò fù cí shǐ yòng piān zhèng shì shū miàn yǔ sè cǎi

Word origin

此前 (cǐqián, "earlier than this point") combines 此 (cǐ, "this") with 前 (qián, "front or before"), placing an earlier time before the point being discussed.

Usage tips

  • Its somewhat formal, written tone makes it especially common in reports and explanations, while casual speech often uses simpler time expressions.

Opposites

Word lists with this word