Writing
前年 (qián nián) — how to say "the year before last" in Chinese
前年
The year before last
noun
Character composition
前
before
年
year
Radicals / Keys
干
Dry
#51 · gān · 3 strokes
刀
Knife
#18 · dāo · 2 strokes
Collocations
前年冬天
qiánnián dōngtiān
the winter of the year before last
前年夏天
qiánnián xiàtiān
the summer of the year before last
Examples
前年冬天我们全家一起去了南方旅行。
In the winter of the year before last, our whole family traveled to the south together.
前年我去了北京。
The year before last I went to Beijing.
Mnemonic
[qián nián-] Qian Nian the turtle keeps an album with three photos of a tree: this year, last year, and 前年 — exactly two years back. 🌳 "Before (前) this year (年) the sprout was this tiny!" she says, and the photo shows a tiny sprout.
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Frequently asked questions
How do you say "the year before last" in Chinese?
"the year before last" in Chinese is 前年 (qián nián).
前年 meaning in English
前年 (qián nián) means "The year before last".
How is 前年 pronounced?
It is pronounced qián nián (written as qian nian, qiannian). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "the year before last" in Chinese characters?
It is written 前年: 前 has 9 strokes, 年 has 6 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK 3.0 level is 前年?
前年 is on the HSK 3.0 level 3 word list. It is not part of the six-level HSK 2.0 lists.
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