先前
xiān qián
Pinyin

Definition

先前
 - 
xiān qián
  1. before
  2. previously

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

之前
zhī qián
  1. 1 before
  2. 2 prior to
  3. 3 ago
  4. 4 previously
  5. 5 beforehand
以前
yǐ qián
  1. 1 before
  2. 2 formerly
  3. 3 previous
  4. 4 ago
先
xiān
  1. 1 early
  2. 2 prior
  3. 3 former
  4. 4 in advance
  5. 5 first
先生
Xiān sheng
  1. 1 Mister (Mr.)
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
事先
shì xiān
  1. 1 in advance
  2. 2 before the event
  3. 3 beforehand
  4. 4 prior
优先
yōu xiān
  1. 1 to have priority
  2. 2 to take precedence
先后
xiān hòu
  1. 1 early or late
  2. 2 priority
  3. 3 in succession
  4. 4 one after another
先进
xiān jìn
  1. 1 advanced (technology)
  2. 2 to advance
先锋
xiān fēng
  1. 1 vanguard
  2. 2 pioneer
  3. 3 avant-garde
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
前夕
qián xī
  1. 1 eve
  2. 2 the day before
前夜
qián yè
  1. 1 the eve
  2. 2 the night before
前天
qián tiān
  1. 1 the day before yesterday
前奏
qián zòu
  1. 1 prelude
  2. 2 presage
前妻
qián qī
  1. 1 ex-wife
  2. 2 late wife
前年
qián nián
  1. 1 the year before last
前往
qián wǎng
  1. 1 to leave for
  2. 2 to proceed towards
  3. 3 to go
前后
qián hòu
  1. 1 around
  2. 2 from beginning to end
  3. 3 all around
  4. 4 front and rear

Idioms (20)

一往无前
yī wǎng wú qián
  1. 1 to advance courageously (idiom)
  2. 2 to press forward
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
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)
停滞不前
tíng zhì bù qián
  1. 1 stuck and not moving forward (idiom); stagnant
  2. 2 in a rut
  3. 3 at a standstill
先下手为强
xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng
  1. 1 strike first and gain the upper hand (idiom, martial arts term); Making the first move is an advantage.
先斩后奏
xiān zhǎn hòu zòu
  1. 1 first decapitate then present your trophy (idiom); act first, report later
先发制人
xiān fā zhì rén
  1. 1 to gain the initiative by striking first (idiom); to preempt
  2. 2 to anticipate
  3. 3 preemptive
先睹为快
xiān dǔ wéi kuài
  1. 1 joy of first experience (idiom)
  2. 2 the pleasure of reading sth for the first time
先礼后兵
xiān lǐ hòu bīng
  1. 1 peaceful measures before using force (idiom); diplomacy before violence
  2. 2 jaw-jaw is better than war-war
光前裕后
guāng qián yù hòu
  1. 1 to bring honor to one's ancestors and benefit future generations (idiom)
兵马未动，粮草先行
bīng mǎ wèi dòng , liáng cǎo xiān xíng
  1. 1 before the troops move, fodder and provisions go first (idiom); logistics comes before military maneuvers
  2. 2 an army marches on its stomach
前不着村，后不着店
qián bù zháo cūn , hòu bù zháo diàn
  1. 1 lit. no village ahead and no inn behind (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to be stranded in the middle of nowhere
  3. 3 to be in a predicament
前不见古人，后不见来者
qián bù jiàn gǔ rén , hòu bù jiàn lái zhě
  1. 1 unique
  2. 2 unprecedented (idiom)
前世姻缘
qián shì yīn yuán
  1. 1 a marriage predestined in a former life (idiom)
前事不忘，后事之师
qián shì bù wàng , hòu shì zhī shī
  1. 1 don't forget past events, they can guide you in future (idiom); benefit from past experience
前人栽树，后人乘凉
qián rén zāi shù , hòu rén chéng liáng
  1. 1 to enjoy the benefits of the hard work of one's predecessors. (idiom)
前仆后继
qián pū hòu jì
  1. 1 one falls, the next follows (idiom); stepping into the breach to replace fallen comrades
  2. 2 advancing wave upon wave
前倨后恭
qián jù hòu gōng
  1. 1 to switch from arrogance to deference (idiom)
前功尽弃
qián gōng jìn qì
  1. 1 to waste all one's previous efforts (idiom)
  2. 2 all that has been achieved goes down the drain

Sample Sentences

博物馆中有不少古埃及艺术品，埃及外交和文物部门先前对这部分藏品情况表达关切。
bówùguǎn zhōng yǒu bùshǎo gǔ Āijí yìshùpǐn ，Āijí wàijiāo hé wénwù bùmén xiānqián duì zhè bùfen cángpǐn qíngkuàng biǎodá guānqiè 。
There are many ancient Egyptian artworks in the museum, and the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Heritage has previously expressed concern about this collection.
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病人本来就已经病入膏肓了，先前我也再三说明过，动这个手术风险不小，但是不动手术绝对撑不过一个礼拜，当初也请家属签过同意书的。
bìngrén běnlái jiù yǐjīng bìngrùgāohuāng le ，xiānqián wǒ yě zàisān shuōmíng guò ，dòng zhè ge shǒushù fēngxiǎn bù xiǎo ，dànshì bù dòngshǒushù juéduì chēng bùguò yī ge lǐbài ，dāngchū yě qǐng jiāshǔ qiān guò tóngyìshū de 。
Doctor: The illness was too advanced and there's nothing we could do, I explained that there were many risks to the operation to you several times before, but if she hadn't had the operation, she wouldn't have survived a week. You also signed a consent form.
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突然，白骨精踩到了悟空先前所画的圆圈，痛得往后退到了树丛里。
tūrán ，báigǔjīng cǎi dào le wùkōng xiānqián suǒ huà de yuánquān ，tòng de wǎng hòu tuì dào le shùcóng lǐ 。
Suddenly, she stepped onto the the circle that Monkey had drawn before he left. She reeled back in pain and fell into a thicket behind her.
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