HSK 6 · Adjectives

空前绝后 kōngqiánjuéhòu “unprecedented and unrepeatable” in Chinese

Traditional 空前絕後

What 空前绝后 means

  1. unprecedented and unrepeatable
  2. unique
  3. unprecedented and never to be duplicated
  4. the first and the last
  5. unmatched

How to say 空前绝后

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale空kōng1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale前qián2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale绝jué2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale后hòu4th tone, falling

空前绝后 in a sentence

  1. 那次演出的盛况可以说是空前绝后。

    Nà cì yǎnchū de shèngkuàng kěyǐ shuō shì kōngqiánjuéhòu.

    That show was a sensation like no other, before or since.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 他的成就空前绝后。

    Tā de chéngjiù kōngqiánjuéhòu.

    His achievements are unique.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 空前绝后 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 空 (kōng) with each of its parts in a different colour
空kōngempty
  • 穴cave · xuéMeaning part
  • 工work · gōngSound part

穴 hints at the meaning (cave); 工 (gōng) hints at the sound. Compare it with kōng.

The character 前 (qián) with each of its parts in a different colour
前qiánfront
  • 丷eight form of 八 · bā
  • 一one · yī
  • 刖cutting off the feet as a form of punishment · yuè
The character 绝 (jué) with each of its parts in a different colour
绝juéto cut short
  • 纟silk form of 糸 · mìMeaning part
  • 色colour · sèSound part

纟 hints at the meaning (silk); 色 (sè) hints at the sound. Compare it with jué.

The character 后 (hòu) drawn as one shape
后hòuempress

后 is a single shape of 6 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidIts first meaning was “queen”. As a simplified character it also stands for 後: behind, after.

How to write 空前绝后

空 8 strokes · 前 9 strokes · 绝 9 strokes · 后 6 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

空前绝后 (kōngqiánjuéhòu) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 空前绝后 (kōngqiánjuéhòu). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 空前绝后

Words with 空

空调kōngtiáo · air conditioning空kōng · empty填空tiánkòng · to fill in the blanks (on a form or test)空气kōngqì · air空闲kòngxián · free time天空tiānkōng · sky空间kōngjiān · space空想kōngxiǎng · fantasy空洞kōngdòng · empty空虚kōngxū · empty

Words with 前

前qián · front前面qiánmiàn · front以前yǐqián · before面前miànqián · in front of前天qiántiān · the day before yesterday前年qiánnián · the year before last提前tíqián · to bring forward之前zhīqián · before从前cóngqián · previously目前mùqián · at the present time

Words with 绝

拒绝jùjué · to refuse绝对juéduì · absolute谢绝xièjué · to politely decline断绝duànjué · to break off杜绝dùjué · to put an end to绝望juéwàng · to despair滔滔不绝tāotāobùjué · to talk non-stop络绎不绝luòyìbùjué · in an endless stream

Words with 后

后hòu · after后面hòumiàn · back后来hòulái · afterwards最后zuìhòu · last然后ránhòu · then以后yǐhòu · after后天hòutiān · the day after tomorrow后年hòunián · the year after next后悔hòuhuǐ · to regret之后zhīhòu · after

More words: Adjectives

可观kěguān · considerable恳切kěnqiè · earnest可行kěxíng · feasible空洞kōngdòng · empty宽敞kuānchang · spacious宽容kuānróng · tolerant枯燥kūzào · dull懒惰lǎnduò · lazy

FAQs

空前绝后 (kōngqiánjuéhòu) means “unprecedented and unrepeatable” or “unique”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it kōngqiánjuéhòu: kōng with a 1st tone, then qián with a 2nd tone, then jué with a 2nd tone, then hòu with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 空前绝后 is written 空前絕後. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type kongqianjuehou with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 空前绝后 from the suggestions. Typing kongqianjuehou into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
空前绝后 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.