Meaning
before; in front; ago; former; previous; earlier
Chinese: 前面、以前。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “qian” becomes a different word in each tone. 前 is the 2nd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 前面qián miànahead; in front; preceding; above
- 前天qián tiānthe day before yesterday
- 前边qián bianfront; the front side; in front of
- 以前yǐ qiánbefore; formerly; previous; ago
- 面前miàn qiánin front of; facing; (in the) presence (of)
Example Sentence
学校前面有一个公园。Xué xiào qián mian yǒu yí ge gōng yuán.There is a park in front of the school.
学校Xué xiàoschool前面qián mianahead有yǒuto have一个yí gea公园gōng yuánpark (for public recreatio。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
Early forms show a foot (止) in a boat moving ahead. It means ‘front / before / forward’; the modern form keeps 刂 at the side.
A way to remember it
A foot carried forward — out in front.