Dictionary🇨🇳 Chinese → 🇺🇸 English
Chinese to English Dictionary
以前
yǐqián
Description
“以前”的意思是过去的时间，指现在之前发生的事。
"以前" means a time in the past, referring to events that happened before now.
它可以放在句子开头，也可以跟在一个时间后面，比如“三年以前”。
It can be placed at the beginning of a sentence or after a time expression, such as "三年以前" (three years ago).
Meanings
以前yǐqián
before; formerly; in the past
我以前住在北京。
I used to live in Beijing.
以前yǐqián
before (a specified time or event)
睡觉以前要刷牙。
Brush your teeth before going to bed.
Related words
Notes
- Nuance
以前 means "in the past" generally; 之前 more often marks "before" a specific point.
- Etymology
以 (from/by) + 前 (front/before), forming a time-reference word.
In videos
“那其实一年以前，呃，我是不能接受啊，”
“古代的就是发生在以前的”
“很贵所以以前我不常常喝咖啡”
“睡觉以前，已经很晚了啊，但是我突然很饿，”
Images