之前
zhī qián
Pinyin

Definition

之前
 - 
zhī qián
  1. before
  2. prior to
  3. ago
  4. previously
  5. beforehand

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

之
zhī
  1. 1 (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de])
  2. 2 him
  3. 3 her
  4. 4 it
之前
zhī qián
  1. 1 before
  2. 2 prior to
  3. 3 ago
  4. 4 previously
  5. 5 beforehand
之后
zhī hòu
  1. 1 afterwards
  2. 2 following
  3. 3 later
  4. 4 after
之间
zhī jiān
  1. 1 between
  2. 2 among
  3. 3 inter-
以前
yǐ qián
  1. 1 before
  2. 2 formerly
  3. 3 previous
  4. 4 ago

Idioms (20)

一丘之貉
yī qiū zhī hé
  1. 1 jackals of the same tribe (idiom); fig. They are all just as bad as each other.
一之为甚
yī zhī wéi shèn
  1. 1 once is more than enough (idiom)
一年之计在于春
yī nián zhī jì zài yú chūn
  1. 1 the whole year must be planned for in the spring (idiom)
  2. 2 early planning is the key to success
一往无前
yī wǎng wú qián
  1. 1 to advance courageously (idiom)
  2. 2 to press forward
一技之长
yī jì zhī cháng
  1. 1 proficiency in a particular field (idiom)
  2. 2 skill in a specialized area (idiom)

Sample Sentences

他在每一次喂狗吃肉之前都会响一次铃，狗有肉吃就会流口水，久而久之，狗一听到铃声就知道有肉可吃，就会不自主地流下口水。
tā zài měi yīcì wèi gǒu chī ròu zhīqián dōu huì xiǎng yīcì líng ，gǒu yǒu ròu chī jiù huì liú kǒushuǐ ，jiǔérjiǔzhī ，gǒu yī tīngdào língshēng jiù zhīdào yǒu ròu kě chī ，jiù huì de liú xià kǒushuǐ 。
He rings the bell every time before feeding the dogs. The dogs drool when there's meat to eat. As time passed by, the dogs would know that there's meat to eat once they heard the bell, and they would drool involuntarily.
Go to Lesson 
要过年了，怎么能不买买买呢？可是之前因为双11,黑五、圣诞的促销活动，我现在已经财政赤字了！
yào guònián le ，zěnme néng bù mǎi mǎi mǎi ne ？kěshì zhīqián yīnwèi shuāng 11 ,hēiwǔ 、Shèngdàn de cùxiāo huódòng ，wǒ xiànzài yǐjīng cáizhèng chìzì le ！
It’s almost Chinese New Year, how can I not buy, buy and buy? But Singles Day (called 双11 in China), Black Friday and Christmas promotions have left me in the red!
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我搭高铁回去，现在高铁直达我们家终于不用像之前那样倒车了。
wǒ dā gāotiě huíqu ，xiànzài gāotiě zhídá wǒmen jiā zhōngyú bùyòng xiàng zhīqián nàyàng dǎochē le 。
I’ll take the high speed rail which now goes directly to my home. Finally I don’t have to change transportation like in the past.
Go to Lesson 
在纠正孩子之前先要与孩子建立连接。
zài jiūzhèng háizi zhīqián xiān yào yǔ háizi jiànlì liánjiē 。
Establish a connection with your child before correcting your child.
Go to Lesson 
昨天去一个机构办证件，我去之前已经做好心理准备，脑补了种种情况
zuótiān qù yī ge jīgòu bàn zhèngjiàn ，wǒ qù zhīqián yǐjīng zuò hǎo xīnlǐ zhǔnbèi ，nǎobǔ le zhǒngzhǒng qíngkuàng
Yesterday I went to an agency to process the documents. I was mentally prepared before I went, in my mind, I imagined several scenarios,
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我们中国人是“家事国事天下事，事事关心”。你觉得他们是打探你的隐私，但他们的初衷都是好的。我之前临时得出差，找不到保姆，我那些邻居、二阿姨，还有我弟媳，都抢着要帮我带孩子呢！
wǒmen Zhōngguórén shì “jiāshì guóshì tiānxiàshì ，shì shì guānxīn ”。nǐ juéde tāmen shì dǎtàn nǐ de yǐnsī ，dàn tāmen de chūzhōng dōu shì hǎo de 。wǒ zhīqián línshí děi chūchāi ，zhǎobudào bǎomǔ ，wǒ nàxiē línjū 、èr āyí ，háiyǒu wǒ dìxí ，dōu qiǎng zhe yào bāng wǒ dài háizi ne ！
We Chinese people have concern about everything from the household, to the country to the world at large. You think they're trying to invade your privacy, but they're setting out from a good place. Before when we had to go away on a business trip at short notice and couldn't find a childminder, our neighbours, my auntie and my little brother's wife were all fighting it out to mind our kids!
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我之前完全没有健身的经验。你们可以教我健身器材的使用方式吗？
wǒ zhīqián wánquán méiyǒu jiànshēn de jīngyàn 。nǐmen kěyǐ jiāo wǒ jiànshēn qìcái de shǐyòng fāngshì ma ？
I don’t have any prior fitness experience. Can you teach me how to use the fitness equipment?
Go to Lesson 
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 
插歌之前要先说一声“我可以插一首歌吗？“
chā gē zhīqián yào xiān shuōyīshēng “wǒ kěyǐ chā yī shǒu gē ma ？“
Before you "cut" the song, you should ask "can I push my song to the top of the list?".
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对不起，我之前说的话可能太过分了。
duìbuqǐ ，wǒ zhīqián shuō dehuà kěnéng tài guòfèn le 。
I'm so sorry, I feel like what I just said crossed a line.
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