之前

Chinese

	's; him/her/it; this	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. (之前)	之	前
simp. ^#(之前)	之	前
Literally: “in the time before ...”

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): zhīqián

(Zhuyin): ㄓㄑㄧㄢˊ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): zi¹ qian²

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): зычян (zɨči͡an, I-I)
Cantonese (Jyutping): zi¹ cin⁴
Gan (Wiktionary): zi¹ 'qien²
Hakka (Meixian, Guangdong): zi¹ qiên²
Northern Min (KCR): ci̿-chîng
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): chi-chiân / chi-chêng / chi-chûiⁿ / chir-chîⁿ

(Teochew, Peng'im): ze¹ zoin⁵
Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ¹tsy-zhi₆; ¹tsy ⁶zhi / ¹tsy-zie₂

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zhīqián
  - Zhuyin: ㄓㄑㄧㄢˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jhihcián
  - Wade–Giles: chih¹-chʻien²
  - Yale: jr̄-chyán
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jychyan
  - Palladius: чжицянь (čžicjanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn³⁵/
  - Homophones:
    [Show/Hide]
    ^edit
    ^edit
    之前
    支前
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: zi¹ qian²
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: zkian
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sz̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰiɛn²¹/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: зычян (zɨči͡an, I-I)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sz̩²⁴ t͡ɕʰiæ̃²⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: zi¹ cin⁴
  - Yale: jī chìhn
  - Cantonese Pinyin: dzi¹ tsin⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: ji¹ qin⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siː⁵⁵ t͡sʰiːn²¹/
  - Homophones:
    ^edit
    ^edit
    之前
    支前
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: zi¹ 'qien²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sz̩⁴² ˈt͡ɕʰiɛn²⁴/
Hakka
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: zi¹ qiên²
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sz̩⁴⁴⁻³⁵ t͡ɕʰiɛn¹¹/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: ci̿-chîng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡si³³ t͡sʰiŋ³³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chi-chiân
  - Tâi-lô: tsi-tsiân
  - Phofsit Daibuun: cicieen
  - IPA (Xiamen): /t͡si⁴⁴⁻²² t͡siɛn²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡si⁴⁴⁻²² t͡siɛn¹³/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡si³³ t͡siɛn²⁴/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chi-chêng
  - Tâi-lô: tsi-tsîng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: cizeeng
  - IPA (Taipei): /t͡si⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡siɪŋ²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡si⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡siɪŋ²³/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chi-chûiⁿ
  - Tâi-lô: tsi-tsuînn
  - Phofsit Daibuun: cizvuii
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡si³³ t͡suĩ²⁴/
- (Hokkien: Longyan)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chir-chîⁿ
  - Tâi-lô: tsir-tsînn
  - IPA (Longyan): /t͡sz̩³³⁴ t͡sĩ¹¹/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: ze¹ zoin⁵
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsṳ tsôiⁿ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɯ³³⁻²³ t͡sõĩ⁵⁵/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ¹tsy-zhi₆; ¹tsy ⁶zhi
  - MiniDict: tsy^平 zhi^去; tsy^平 zhi^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹tsr-xxi₃; ¹tsr ³xxi
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡sz̩⁵⁵ ʑi²¹/, /t͡sz̩⁴⁴ ʑi²³/
- (Northern: Suzhou)
  - Wugniu: ¹tsy-zie₂
  - MiniDict: tsy^平 zie^平
  - Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /t͡sz̩⁴⁴ zɪ/

Noun

之前

before; in front of; ahead of
你之前的工作經驗 [MSC, trad.]
你之前的工作经验 [MSC, simp.]
nǐ zhīqián de gōngzuò jīngyàn [Pinyin]
your previous job experience

你走之前，我去看你，好嗎？ [MSC, trad.]
你走之前，我去看你，好吗？ [MSC, simp.]
Nǐ zǒu zhīqián, wǒ qù kàn nǐ, hǎo ma? [Pinyin]
Can I see you before you leave?

在沒有開會之前，我想請教幾個問題。 [MSC, trad.]
在没有开会之前，我想请教几个问题。 [MSC, simp.]
Zài méiyǒu kāihuì zhīqián, wǒ xiǎng qǐngjiào jǐge wèntí. [Pinyin]
I would like to ask a few questions before the meeting begins.
(placed sentence-initially) before; previously
之前，我沒學過寫中文。 [MSC, trad.]
之前，我没学过写中文。 [MSC, simp.]
Zhīqián, wǒ méi xué guò xiě Zhōngwén. [Pinyin]
I haven't learned to write Chinese before.

Antonyms

之後／之后 (zhīhòu)