前世

Chinese

		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	life; age; generation life; age; generation; era; world; lifetime
trad. (前世)		前	世
simp. ^#(前世)		前	世

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): qiánshì

(Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄢˊ ㄕˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): cin⁴ sai³
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): chhièn-se / chhièn-sṳ

(Hailu, HRS): cien she^ˇ
Eastern Min (BUC): cièng-sié
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): chêng-sì / chûiⁿ--sì / chiân-sì / chân-sì / chiân-sè / chêng-sè
Wu (Suzhou, Wugniu): ²zie-syu₅

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)
  - Hanyu Pinyin: qiánshì
  - Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄢˊ ㄕˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: ciánshìh
  - Wade–Giles: chʻien²-shih⁴
  - Yale: chyán-shr̀
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chyanshyh
  - Palladius: цяньши (cjanʹši)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn³⁵ ʂʐ̩⁵¹/
  - Homophones:
    [Show/Hide]
    ^edit
    ^edit
    前世
    前事
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: cin⁴ sai³
  - Yale: chìhn sai
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tsin⁴ sai³
  - Guangdong Romanization: qin⁴ sei³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiːn²¹ sɐi̯³³/
Hakka
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhièn-se
  - Hakka Romanization System: qien^ˇ se
  - Hagfa Pinyim: qian² se⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰi̯en¹¹ se⁵⁵/
- (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhièn-sṳ
  - Hakka Romanization System: qien^ˇ sii
  - Hagfa Pinyim: qian² si⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰi̯en¹¹ sɨ⁵⁵/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
  - Hakka Romanization System: cien she^ˇ
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰien⁵⁵ ʃe¹¹/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: cièng-sié
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sieŋ⁵³⁻²¹ ^(s-)niɛ²¹³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chêng-sì
  - Tâi-lô: tsîng-sì
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zengsix
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡siɪŋ²³⁻³³ si²¹/
  - IPA (Taipei): /t͡siɪŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ si¹¹/
  - IPA (Xiamen): /t͡siɪŋ²⁴⁻²² si²¹/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡siɪŋ¹³⁻²² si²¹/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chûiⁿ--sì
  - Tâi-lô: tsuînn--sì
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, variant in Taiwan)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chiân-sì
  - Tâi-lô: tsiân-sì
  - Phofsit Daibuun: ciensix
  - IPA (Xiamen): /t͡siɛn²⁴⁻²² si²¹/
  - IPA (Taipei): /t͡siɛn²⁴⁻¹¹ si¹¹/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡siɛn²³⁻³³ si²¹/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡siɛn¹³⁻²² si²¹/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chân-sì
  - Tâi-lô: tsân-sì
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zansix
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡san¹³⁻²² si²¹/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou-like accent in Taiwan)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chiân-sè
  - Tâi-lô: tsiân-sè
  - Phofsit Daibuun: ciensex
- (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chêng-sè
  - Tâi-lô: tsîng-sè
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zengsex
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡siɪŋ²³⁻³³ se²¹/
  - IPA (Taipei): /t͡siɪŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ se¹¹/
Wu
- (Northern: Suzhou)
  - Wugniu: ²zie-syu₅
  - MiniDict: zie^平 syu^去
  - Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /zɪ²² sz̩ʷ³³/

Middle Chinese: dzen syejH

Rime
Character	前	世
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	從 (15)	書 (26)
Final (韻)	先 (85)	祭 (35)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	IV	III
Fanqie	昨先切	舒制切
Baxter	dzen	syejH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡zen/	/ɕiᴇi^H/
Pan Wuyun	/d͡zen/	/ɕiɛi^H/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡zɛn/	/ɕjæi^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/d͡zɛn/	/ɕiaj^H/
Li Rong	/d͡zen/	/ɕiɛi^H/
Wang Li	/d͡zien/	/ɕĭɛi^H/
Bernhard Karlgren	/d͡zʱien/	/ɕi̯ɛi^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	qián	shì
Expected Cantonese Reflex	cin⁴	sai³

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[dz]ˤen l̥ap-s/

(Zhengzhang): /*zleːn hljebs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	前	世
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	qián	shì
Middle Chinese	‹ dzen ›	‹ syej^H ›
Old Chinese	/[dz]ˁen/ (~ m-dzˁen)	/*l̥ap-s/
English	before	generation
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	前	世
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	10256	11537
Phonetic component	前	世
Rime group	元	蓋
Rime subdivision	2	2
Corresponding MC rime	前	丗
Old Chinese	/*zleːn/	/*hljebs/
Notes		本枼葉初文（文源）

Noun

前世

(literary) previous era
previous life; past life; past existence; previous incarnation
of a VTuber, another VTuber that was portrayed by the same person; past life

Synonyms

(previous era): 前代 (qiándài), 先世 (xiānshì)
(previous life):

edit

上輩子 / 上辈子 (shàngbèizi)
前世人 (Hokkien)
前生 (qiánshēng)
頂世人 / 顶世人 (Hokkien)

Dialectal synonyms of 前世 (“previous life; previous existence; previous incarnation”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		前生, 前世
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	上輩子, 前世
Central Plains Mandarin	Xuzhou	前世年
Cantonese	Hong Kong	前世
Gan	Lichuan	前世
Hakka	Meixian	前生人
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	前世
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	前世
	Wengyuan	前世
	Liannan	前世
	Jiexi	前世
	Zhao'an (Xiuzhuan)	前世
	Changting	前世
	Wuping	前世
	Ninghua	前世
	Ningdu	前世
	Tonggu (Sandu)	頭世
	Ganzhou (Panlong)	前世
	Dayu	前生世
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	前生, 前世
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	前生, 前生人, 前世
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	前生, 前世
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	前生, 前世
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	前生, 前世
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	前世
	Hong Kong	前世
	Yangxi (Tangkou)	前世
	Yangchun (Sanjia)	前世
	Xinyi (Sihe)	前世
	Xinyi (Qianpai)	前世
	Gaozhou (Xindong)	前世
	Maoming (Shalang, Dianbai)	前世
	Huazhou (Xin'an)	前世
	Lianjiang (Shijiao)	前世
	Lianjiang (Qingping)	前世
	Mengshan (Xihe)	前世
	Luchuan	前世
Huizhou	Jixi	前世
Southern Min	Xiamen	頂世, 頂世儂, 前世, 前世儂
	Quanzhou	頂世, 頂世儂, 前世
	Zhangzhou	頂世, 頂世儂, 前世, 前世儂
	Tainan	頂世儂, 前世儂, 前世 GT
	Manila (Hokkien)	頂世儂
	Haikou	前世
Wu	Suzhou	前世
	Hangzhou	前世
	Wenzhou	前世
Xiang	Changsha	前世
Note	GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (前世):

→ Japanese: 前(ぜん)世(せ) (zense)
→ Korean: 전세(前世) (jeonse)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
前	世
ぜん Grade: 2	せ Grade: 3
on'yomi

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ぜんせ [zéꜜǹsè] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]
IPA^(key): [d͡zẽ̞ɰ̃se̞]

Noun

前(ぜん)世(せ) • (zense)

previous life; past life; past existence
of a VTuber, another VTuber that was portrayed by the same person; past life
- 2023 May 14, 天頂バス - VTuberの前世や魂の情報サイト‎^[1]:
  ですが、デビュー前からほぼ確定で前世がバレていました。
  However, even before her début, it was obvious what graduated VTuber she used to be.

References

^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja in this term
前	世

Noun

前世 • (jeonse) (hangeul 전세)

hanja form^? of 전세 (“previous eras”)

[DJR-1] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[1]