以前
yǐ qián
Pinyin

Definition

以前
 - 
yǐ qián
  1. before
  2. formerly
  3. previous
  4. ago

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

以
yǐ
  1. 1 old variant of 以[yǐ]
以前
yǐ qián
  1. 1 before
  2. 2 formerly
  3. 3 previous
  4. 4 ago
以后
yǐ hòu
  1. 1 after
  2. 2 later
  3. 3 afterwards
  4. 4 following
  5. 5 later on
  6. 6 in the future
以为
yǐ wéi
  1. 1 to think (i.e. to take it to be true that ...) (Usually there is an implication that the notion is mistaken – except when expressing one's own current opinion.)
前
qián
  1. 1 front
  2. 2 forward
  3. 3 ahead
  4. 4 first
  5. 5 top (followed by a number)
  6. 6 future
  7. 7 ago
  8. 8 before
  9. 9 BC (e.g. 前293年)
  10. 10 former
  11. 11 formerly
可以
kě yǐ
  1. 1 can
  2. 2 may
  3. 3 possible
  4. 4 able to
  5. 5 not bad
  6. 6 pretty good
所以
suǒ yǐ
  1. 1 therefore
  2. 2 as a result
  3. 3 so
  4. 4 the reason why
之前
zhī qián
  1. 1 before
  2. 2 prior to
  3. 3 ago
  4. 4 previously
  5. 5 beforehand
之所以
zhī suǒ yǐ
  1. 1 the reason why
以上
yǐ shàng
  1. 1 that level or higher
  2. 2 that amount or more
  3. 3 the above-mentioned
  4. 4 (used to indicate that one has completed one's remarks) That is all.
以下
yǐ xià
  1. 1 that level or lower
  2. 2 that amount or less
  3. 3 the following
以来
yǐ lái
  1. 1 since (a previous event)
以免
yǐ miǎn
  1. 1 in order to avoid
  2. 2 so as not to
以及
yǐ jí
  1. 1 as well as
  2. 2 too
  3. 3 and
以外
yǐ wài
  1. 1 apart from
  2. 2 other than
  3. 3 except for
  4. 4 external
  5. 5 outside of
  6. 6 on the other side of
  7. 7 beyond
以往
yǐ wǎng
  1. 1 in the past
  2. 2 formerly
以至于
yǐ zhì yú
  1. 1 down to
  2. 2 up to
  3. 3 to the extent that...
何以
hé yǐ
  1. 1 (literary) why
  2. 2 how
前世
qián shì
  1. 1 previous generations
  2. 2 previous incarnation (Buddhism)
前来
qián lái
  1. 1 to come (formal)
  2. 2 before
  3. 3 previously

Idioms (20)

一则以喜，一则以忧
yī zé yǐ xǐ , yī zé yǐ yōu
  1. 1 happy on the one hand, but worried on the other (idiom)
一往无前
yī wǎng wú qián
  1. 1 to advance courageously (idiom)
  2. 2 to press forward
一言以蔽之
yī yán yǐ bì zhī
  1. 1 one word says it all (idiom, from Analects); to cut a long story short
  2. 2 in a nutshell
不以人废言
bù yǐ rén fèi yán
  1. 1 not to reject a word because of the speaker (idiom, from Analects); to judge on the merits of the case rather than preference between advisers
不以为然
bù yǐ wéi rán
  1. 1 not to accept as correct (idiom); to object
  2. 2 to disapprove
  3. 3 to take exception to
不以规矩，不能成方圆
bù yǐ guī ju , bù néng chéng fāng yuán
  1. 1 without rules, nothing can be done (idiom, from Mencius); one must follow some rules
不以词害志
bù yǐ cí hài zhì
  1. 1 don't let rhetoric spoil the message (idiom); don't get carried away with flowery speech to the detriment of what you want to say
不以辞害志
bù yǐ cí hài zhì
  1. 1 don't let rhetoric spoil the message (idiom); don't get carried away with flowery speech to the detriment of what you want to say
不听老人言，吃亏在眼前
bù tīng lǎo rén yán , chī kuī zài yǎn qián
  1. 1 (idiom) ignore your elders at your peril
不顾前后
bù gù qián hòu
  1. 1 regardless of what's before or after (idiom); rushing blindly into sth
予以照顾
yǔ yǐ zhào gù
  1. 1 to ask sb to carefully consider a request (idiom)
五百年前是一家
wǔ bǎi nián qián shì yī jiā
  1. 1 five hundred years ago we were the same family (idiom) (said of persons with the same surname)
他山之石可以攻玉
tā shān zhī shí kě yǐ gōng yù
  1. 1 lit. the other mountain's stone can polish jade (idiom); to improve oneself by accepting criticism from outside
  2. 2 to borrow talent from abroad to develop the nation effectively
以一驭万
yǐ yī yù wàn
  1. 1 to control a key point is to be master of the situation (idiom)
以人废言
yǐ rén fèi yán
  1. 1 to reject a word because of the speaker (idiom, from Analects); to judge on preference between advisers rather than the merits of the case
以债养债
yǐ zhài yǎng zhài
  1. 1 debt nurtures more debt (idiom)
以儆效尤
yǐ jǐng xiào yóu
  1. 1 in order to warn against following bad examples (idiom)
  2. 2 as a warning to others
以免借口
yǐ miǎn jiè kǒu
  1. 1 to remove sth that could be used as a pretext (idiom)
以其人之道，还治其人之身
yǐ qí rén zhī dào , huán zhì qí rén zhī shēn
  1. 1 to use an opponent's own methods to obtain retribution (idiom, from Song dynasty neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi 朱熹); to get revenge by playing sb back at his own game
  2. 2 to give sb a taste of his own medicine
以卵击石
yǐ luǎn jī shí
  1. 1 lit. to strike a stone with egg (idiom); to attempt the impossible
  2. 2 to invite disaster by overreaching oneself

Sample Sentences

古迹之所以可以放这么久，就是因为以前的建筑质量好，不但材料优质，建筑技术也巧妙。
gǔjì zhīsuǒyǐ kěyǐ fàng zhème jiǔ ，jiùshì yīnwèi yǐqián de jiànzhù zhìliàng hǎo ，bùdàn cáiliào yōuzhì ，jiànzhù jìshù yě qiǎomiào 。
The reason why the monuments can be kept for so long is because the previous buildings are of good quality, not only the materials are high-quality, but the construction techniques are also ingenious.
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我以前很想读音乐，但是我父母不让我读音乐，让我去读医科呢!这就是牛不喝水强按头
wǒ yǐqián hěn xiǎng dú yīnyuè ，dànshì wǒ fùmǔ bù ràng wǒ dú yīnyuè ，ràng wǒ qù dú yīkē ne !zhè jiùshì niúbùhēshuǐqiǎngàntóu
I used to want to study music so much, but my parents didn't let me to. They wanted me to study medicine. This is just like forcing a bull to drink water.
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签约以前必须要看清楚每个条款的内容。
qiānyuē yǐqián bìxū yào kàn qīngchu měi ge tiáokuǎn de nèiróng 。
You must look through all the content of the clauses before signing a contract.
Go to Lesson 
见到我以前的老朋友，我真的是十分惊喜。十年过去了，但他的模样却一点儿也没变。
jiàndào wǒ yǐqián de lǎopéngyou ，wǒ zhēnde shì shífēn jīngxǐ 。shí nián guòqù le ，dàn tā de múyàng què yīdiǎnr5 yě méi biàn 。
I was really surprised to see my old friend. Ten years have passed, but his appearance has not changed a bit.
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见到我以前的朋友，我真的是又惊又喜。
jiàndào wǒ yǐqián de péngyou ，wǒ zhēnde shì yòu jīng yòu xǐ 。
I was really surprised and glad to see an old friend.
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以前我读书的时候，大家都不喜欢举手问问题，因为他们觉得问问题的人是在出风头。
yǐqián wǒ dúshū de shíhou ，dàjiā dōu bù xǐhuan jǔshǒu wèn wèntí ，yīnwèi tāmen juéde wèn wèntí de rén shì zài chūfēngtou 。
When I was a student, people didn't like to raise their hands to ask questions during the class because they would think the person asking questions is showing off.
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以前在学校读书的时候，特别是在考试之前，一定有一位同学总是说：“这次考试好简单呀！不用读、不用读。”
yǐqián zài xuéxiào dúshū de shíhou ，tèbié shì zài kǎoshì zhīqián ，yīdìng yǒu yī wèi tóngxué zǒngshì shuō ：“zhè cì kǎoshì hǎo jiǎndān ya ！bùyòng dú 、bùyòng dú 。”
Back when I was studying at school, especially before exams, there was always one classmate who would say, ‘The test will be so easy this time! I won’t have to study.’
Go to Lesson 
在以前的中国农村社会中，古人都有很多的常识，比如说他们知道太阳什么时候升起、知道怎么种稻、知道风什么时候开始吹。
zài yǐqián de Zhōngguó nóngcūn shèhuì zhōng ，gǔrén dōu yǒu hěnduō de chángshí ，bǐrú shuō tāmen zhīdào tàiyang shénme shíhou shēngqǐ 、zhīdào zěnme zhòng dào 、zhīdào fēng shénme shíhou kāishǐ chuī 。
In Chinese rural societies in the past, the ancients had a lot of common sense. They know, for example, when the sun rises, how to grow rice, or even when the wind blows.
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在以前的公司，有一个同事，他刚进公司的时候，就对我们大小声。
zài yǐqián de gōngsī ，yǒu yīgè tóngshì ，tā gāng jìn gōngsī de shíhou ，jiù duì wǒmen dàxiǎoshēng 。
I had a colleague in my previous company. Though he just joined the company, he raised his voice at us.
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在以前的中国工作文化里面，人一离开了公司，就不会再回到公司工作了。
zài yǐqián de Zhōngguó gōngzuò wénhuà lǐmiàn ，rén yī líkāi le gōngsī ，jiù bùhuì zài huídào gōngsī gōngzuò le 。
In the old Chinese working culture, once people left the company, they wouldn’t go back to the company and work again.
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