以前

Chinese

		to use; according to; so as to to use; according to; so as to; in order to; by; with; because; Israel (abbrev.)	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. (以前)		以	前
simp. #(以前)		以	前

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): yǐqián

  (Zhuyin): ㄧˇ ㄑㄧㄢˊ

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): йичян (yiči͡an, II-I)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ji⁵ cin⁴
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): yî-chhièn

  (Meixian, Guangdong): yi¹ qiên²

• Min Bei (KCR): ǐ-chîng
• Min Dong (BUC): ī-*sèng
• Min Nan

  (Hokkien, POJ): í-chêng / í-chûiⁿ / í-châiⁿ

  (Teochew, Peng'im): i² zoin⁵ / i² zain⁵

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Shanghainese): ¹i-zhi; ¹i ⁶zhi
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): i³ zienn²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yǐqián
    • Zhuyin: ㄧˇ ㄑㄧㄢˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yǐcián
    • Wade–Giles: i³-chʻien²
    • Yale: yǐ-chyán
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yiichyan
    • Palladius: ицянь (icjanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn³⁵/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: йичян (yiči͡an, II-I)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵¹ t͡ɕʰiæ̃²⁴/

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

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ji⁵ cin⁴
    • Yale: yíh chìhn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ji⁵ tsin⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: yi⁵ qin⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jiː¹³ t͡sʰiːn²¹/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yî-chhièn
    • Hakka Romanization System: i´ qienˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: yi¹ qian²
    • Sinological IPA: /i²⁴ t͡ɕʰi̯en¹¹/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: yî-chhièn
    • Hakka Romanization System: (r)i´ qienˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: yi¹ qian²
    • Sinological IPA: /(j)i²⁴ t͡ɕʰi̯en¹¹/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: yi¹ qiên²
    • Sinological IPA: /i⁴⁴⁻³⁵ t͡ɕʰiɛn¹¹/
• Min Bei
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: ǐ-chîng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i²¹ t͡sʰiŋ³³/
• Min Dong
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: ī-*sèng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i³³⁻²¹ sɛiŋ⁵³/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese, Singapore)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: í-chêng
    • Tâi-lô: í-tsîng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: yzeeng
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /i⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡ɕiɪŋ¹³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /i⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ t͡ɕiɪŋ²³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Taipei): /i⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡ɕiɪŋ²⁴/
    • IPA (Singapore): /i⁴²⁻²⁴ t͡seŋ²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: í-chûiⁿ
    • Tâi-lô: í-tsuînn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: yzvuii
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /i⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ t͡suĩ²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Tong'an, Kinmen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: í-châiⁿ
    • Tâi-lô: í-tsâinn
    • Phofsit Daibuun: yzvaai
    • IPA (Tong'an): /i³¹⁻²² t͡sãi²⁴/
    • IPA (Kinmen): /i⁵³⁻²⁴ t͡sãi²⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: i² zoin⁵ / i² zain⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: í tsôiⁿ / í tsâiⁿ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵²⁻³⁵ t͡sõĩ⁵⁵/, /i⁵²⁻³⁵ t͡sãĩ⁵⁵/

Note:

• i2 zoin5 - Chaozhou, Shantou;
• i2 zain5 - Jieyang.

Wu

• (Shanghainese)
  • Wugniu: ¹i-zhi; ¹i ⁶zhi
  • Wiktionary Romanisation: ¹i-xxi; ¹i ³xxi
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵⁵ ʑi²¹/, /i⁴⁴  ʑi²³/

Xiang

• (Changsha)
  • Wiktionary: i³ zienn²
  • Sinological IPA ^(key) (old-style): /i⁴¹ t͡sɪ̯ẽ¹³/
  • Sinological IPA ^(key) (new-style): /i⁴¹ t͡ɕɪ̯ẽ¹³/

Noun

以前

1. earlier times; formerly; previously

Synonyms

• 上早 (Hakka)
• 先前 (xiānqián)
• 先行 (xiānxíng) (literary)
• 其先 (qíxiān) (literary)
• 前往 (qiánwǎng) (literary)
• 原在 (Hakka)
• 古者 (gǔzhě) (archaic)
• 向來／向来 (xiànglái) (archaic)
• 嘗／尝 (cháng) (literary, or used in compounds)
• 在前 (zàiqián)
• 家先 (Hakka)
• 往擺／往摆 (Min Nan)
• 往擺仔／往摆仔 (Min Nan)
• 往者 (wǎngzhě) (literary)
• 往過／往过 (Min Nan)
• 往過仔／往过仔 (Min Nan)
• 從前／从前 (cóngqián)
• 早先 (zǎoxiān)
• 早年所 (Min Nan)
• 早時／早时 (Min Nan)
• 昔日 (xīrì) (literary)
• 昔時／昔时 (xīshí) (literary)
• 曾
• 曾經／曾经 (céngjīng)
• 當初／当初 (dāngchū)
• 舊擺／旧摆 (Singapore Hokkien)
• 舊早／旧早 (Singapore Hokkien)
• 過前／过前 (Hainanese)

 

Dialectal synonyms of 上次 (“last time”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		上次
Mandarin	Taiwan	上次
	Chengdu	頭回子, 頭回
	Liuzhou	頭一回, 頭回
	Xuzhou	頭回
	Singapore	上次
Cantonese	Guangzhou	上次
	Hong Kong	上次
	Singapore (Guangfu)	上次, 舊擺
Gan	Nanchang	頭回
Hakka	Meixian	上擺, 頭擺
	Yudu	頭回
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	上擺, 上回, 上次, 上滿
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	上擺
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	上擺, 上回, 上輪
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	上擺, 上到, 上回, 上滿, 上下
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	上擺, 上回, 上滿, 上輪
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	上擺, 上回
Min Nan	Xiamen	頂擺, 頂逝, 頂過, 頂幫, 頂聲, 前擺, 前過
	Quanzhou	頂擺, 頂逝, 頂過, 頂幫, 頂聲, 前擺, 前過
	Zhangzhou	頂擺, 頂逝, 頂過, 頂下, 頂幫, 頂聲, 前擺, 前過
	Zhao'an	頂次
	Tainan	頂擺, 頂過, 頂幫, 頂改
	Penang (Hokkien)	頂過, 頂斗, 彼擺
	Singapore (Hokkien)	頂過, 頂擺, 頂幫, 舊擺
	Manila (Hokkien)	頂擺, 頂過, 頂幫
	Jieyang	先回
	Qionghai	上次
Puxian Min	Putian	頂環, 頂擺, 頂滿, 頂下, 頂出, 頂過, 頂般
	Xianyou	頂環, 頂擺, 頂滿, 頂工, 頂斗
Wu	Shanghai	上趟, 上趟子
	Hangzhou	上趟
Xiang	Changsha	頭回

Further reading

• “Entry #1349”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (in Chinese and Min Nan), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2023.

Japanese

Kanji in this term
以	前
い Grade: 4	ぜん Grade: 2
on’yomi

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) い​ぜん [íꜜzèǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [izẽ̞ɴ]

Noun

以(い)前(ぜん) • (izen) 

1. (the one) before, formerly, ago
2. the former, the previous

References

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.

Korean

Hanja in this term
以	前

Noun

以前 • (ijeon) (hangeul 이전)

1. Hanja form^? of 이전 (“the time before now; heretofore”).