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前qiánago; before

HSK 1word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

前 (qián) means "ago" or "before," as in 三天前 (three days ago) and 两年前 (two years ago). It also means "forward" or "ahead," as in 往前走 (walk forward). This entry covers these two senses of the word 前, each shown with its own examples below.

What does 前 mean?

  1. 1.

    ago; beforenoun

  2. 2.

    forward; aheadnoun

What does the character 前 mean?

  • 前ago; before

How do you use 前?

See it in 三天前, 两年前 and 往前走.

Patterns

  • time length + 前

    他三天前来了。

    Tā sān tiān qián lái le.

    He came three days ago.

  • 往前 + verb

    往前走。

    Wǎng qián zǒu.

    Walk forward.

What are some examples of 前 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    他三天前来了。

    Tā sān tiān qián lái le.

    He came three days ago.

  2. HSK 1

    两年前我是学生。

    Liǎng nián qián wǒ shì xuésheng.

    Two years ago I was a student.

  3. HSK 2

    往前走。

    Wǎng qián zǒu.

    Walk forward.

How is 前 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    你什么时候来的？

    Nǐ shénme shíhou lái de?

    When did you come?

  2. Speaker B:

    两天前。

    Liǎng tiān qián.

    Two days ago.

  3. Speaker A:

    你的学校在哪儿？

    Nǐ de xuéxiào zài nǎr?

    Where is your school?

  4. Speaker B:

    往前走，就到了。

    Wǎng qián zǒu, jiù dào le.

    Walk forward and you'll be there.

Can you use 前 correctly?

0 of 3 answered
  1. 1.Fill in the blank: 他三天___来了。 (He came three days ago.)
  2. 2.What does 往前走。 mean?
  3. 3.What does 两年前 mean?

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.