之前

Chinese

		's; him/her/it; this	front, forepart; in front; past front, forepart; in front; past; former; previous; last; before; preceding; earlier; ago; future; time ahead; first; top; battlefront; to move forward
trad. (之前)		之	前
simp. #(之前)		之	前
Literally: “in the time before ...”

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): zhīqián

  (Zhuyin): ㄓ ㄑㄧㄢˊ

  (Chengdu, SP): zi¹ qian²

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): зычян (zɨči͡an, I-I)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zi¹ cin⁴
• Gan (Wiktionary): zi¹ qien²
• Min Bei (KCR): ci̿-chîng
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): chi-chiân / chi-chêng / chi-chûiⁿ

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ze¹ zoin⁵

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhīqián
    • Zhuyin: ㄓ ㄑㄧㄢˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhihcián
    • Wade–Giles: chih¹-chʻien²
    • Yale: jr̄-chyán
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jychyan
    • Palladius: чжицянь (čžicjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰjɛn³⁵/
    • Homophones:

      [Show/Hide]
      edit edit 之前 支前

  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: zi¹ qian²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: zkian
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sz̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰiɛn²¹/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: зычян (zɨči͡an, I-I)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sz̩²⁴ t͡ɕʰiæ̃²⁴/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: zi¹ cin⁴
    • Yale: jī chìhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzi¹ tsin⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ji¹ qin⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siː⁵⁵ t͡sʰiːn²¹/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 之前 支前

• Gan
  • (Nanchang)
    • Wiktionary: zi¹ qien²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sz̩⁴² t͡ɕʰiɛn²⁴/
• Min Bei
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: ci̿-chîng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡si³³ t͡sʰiŋ³³/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chi-chiân
    • Tâi-lô: tsi-tsiân
    • Phofsit Daibuun: cicieen
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡ɕi³³ t͡ɕiɛn²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡ɕi⁴⁴⁻²² t͡ɕiɛn¹³/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /t͡ɕi⁴⁴⁻²² t͡ɕiɛn²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chi-chêng
    • Tâi-lô: tsi-tsîng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: cizeeng
    • IPA (Taipei): /t͡ɕi⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡ɕiɪŋ²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡ɕi⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡ɕiɪŋ²³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chi-chûiⁿ
    • Tâi-lô: tsi-tsuînn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: cizvuii
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡ɕi³³ t͡suĩ²⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: ze¹ zoin⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsṳ tsôiⁿ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɯ³³⁻²³ t͡sõĩ⁵⁵/

Noun

之前

1. before; in front of; ahead of

   你之前的工作經驗 [MSC, trad.]
   你之前的工作经验 [MSC, simp.]

   nǐ zhīqián de gōngzuò jīngyàn [Pinyin]

   your previous job experience

   你走之前，我去看你，好嗎？ [MSC, trad.]
   你走之前，我去看你，好吗？ [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐ zǒu zhīqián, wǒ qù kàn nǐ, hǎo ma? [Pinyin]

   Can I see you before you leave?

   在沒有開會之前，我想請教幾個問題。 [MSC, trad.]
   在没有开会之前，我想请教几个问题。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zài méiyǒu kāihuì zhīqián, wǒ xiǎng qǐngjiào jǐge wèntí. [Pinyin]

   I would like to ask a few questions before the meeting begins.

2. (placed sentence-initially) before; previously

   之前，我沒學過寫中文。 [MSC, trad.]
   之前，我没学过写中文。 [MSC, simp.]

   Zhīqián, wǒ méi xué guò xiě Zhōngwén. [Pinyin]

   I haven't learned to write Chinese before.

Antonyms

• 之後／之后 (zhīhòu)