1 (completed action marker)

2 (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now)

3 (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)

1 before

2 prior to

3 ago

4 previously

5 beforehand

1 to understand

2 to realize

3 to find out

1 before

2 formerly

3 previous

4 ago

1 front

2 forward

3 ahead

4 first

5 top (followed by a number)

6 future

7 ago

8 before

9 BC (e.g. 前293年)

10 former

11 formerly

1 to advance courageously (idiom)

2 to press forward

1 before the first wave subsides, a new wave rises (idiom); a new problem arises before the old is solved

2 many twists and turns to a story

3 one thing after another

1 obvious at a glance (idiom)

1 obvious at a glance (idiom)

1 lit. a piece of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of congee (idiom)

2 fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch