Writing
之前 (zhī qián) — how to say "before" in Chinese
之前
Before, prior to; previously
noun
Character composition
之
this
前
before
Radicals / Keys
丿
Slash
#4 · piě · 1 stroke
刀
Knife
#18 · dāo · 2 strokes
Synonyms
Collocations
三天之前
sān tiān zhīqián
three days ago
出发之前
chūfā zhīqián
before departure
上课之前
shàngkè zhīqián
before class
Examples
吃饭之前要洗手
Wash your hands before eating
之前我走了
I left before that
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Frequently asked questions
How do you say "before" in Chinese?
"before" in Chinese is 之前 (zhī qián).
之前 meaning
之前 (zhī qián) means "Before, prior to; previously".
How is 之前 pronounced?
It is pronounced zhī qián (written as zhi qian, zhiqian). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "before" in Chinese characters?
It is written 之前: 之 has 3 strokes, 前 has 9 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK 3.0 level is 之前?
之前 is on the HSK 3.0 level 4 word list. It is not part of the six-level HSK 2.0 lists.
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