HSK 3 · Time

以前 yǐqián “before” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 以前 means

  1. before
  2. formerly
  3. previous
  4. ago

How to say 以前

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale以yǐ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale前qián2nd tone, rising

以前 in a sentence

  1. 他以前住在这儿。

    Tā yǐqián zhù zài zhèr.

    He used to live here.

    Sentence #426893 from Tatoeba

  2. 这里以前有邮局。

    Zhèlǐ yǐqián yǒu yóujú.

    There used to be a post office here.

    Sentence #9410045 from Tatoeba

  3. 我比以前吃得少了。

    Wǒ bǐ yǐqián chī de shǎo le.

    I eat less than I used to.

    Sentence #8463707 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 以前 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 以 (yǐ) drawn as one shape
以yǐto use

以 is a single shape of 4 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

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

How to write 以前

以 4 strokes · 前 9 strokes

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

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

Words related to 以前

Words with 以

可以kěyǐ · can所以suǒyǐ · so以后yǐhòu · after以下yǐxià · below以上yǐshàng · above以外yǐwài · apart from以yǐ · with以为yǐwéi · to think (wrongly)以及yǐjí · and以来yǐlái · since (a previous event)

Words with 前

前qián · front前面qiánmiàn · front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前途qiántú · prospects

More words: Time

一共yígòng · altogether一会儿yíhuìr · a while一样yíyàng · the same一直yìzhí · always终于zhōngyú · at last周末zhōumò · weekend总是zǒngshì · always最后zuìhòu · last

FAQs

以前 (yǐqián) means “before” or “formerly”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it yǐqián: yǐ with a 3rd tone, then qián with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 以前 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yiqian with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 以前 from the suggestions. Typing yiqian into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
以前 is an HSK 3 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 from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.