之
前

Before in Chinese: 之前 (zhī qián)

zhī qián

before

HSK 3.0 Level 41 example sentence

Definitions

  1. 1before
  2. 2prior to
  3. 3ago
  4. 4previously
  5. 5beforehand

Stroke order

Watch how to write 之前 stroke by stroke.

之
前

Zhuyin

This word’s pronunciation in Bopomofo.

Learn how to read Zhuyin

ㄓ

zhī

ㄓ/ zh—/ first tone

ㄑㄧㄢˊ

qián

ㄑ/ qㄧ/ iㄢ/ anˊ/ second tone

Example sentences

See 之前 used in real sentences with pinyin and English translations.

  • 睡觉之前，别忘了刷牙。

    shuì jiào zhī qián， bié wàng le shuā yá。

    Before going to sleep, don't forget to brush your teeth.

Spotted a mistake?

Related words

之

zhī

(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的)

前

qián

front

前面

qián miàn

ahead

以前

yǐ qián

before

分之

fēn zhī

(indicating a fraction)

提前

tí qián

to shift to an earlier date

从前

cóng qián

previously

目前

mù qián

at the present time

前途

qián tú

prospects

总之

zǒng zhī

in a word

前边

qián bian

front

前天

qián tiān

the day before yesterday

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 vocabulary list

Learn 之前 with spaced repetition

Add 之前 (zhī qián) to your review queue and the FSRS algorithm will schedule it exactly when you're about to forget — then meet it again in a short AI-generated story written at your level.

Start learning free

No credit card required · Free tier included