before in Chinese

How to write 以前

Animated stroke order — tap a character to replay. Look up any character's stroke order → Printable writing worksheet for 以前 →

以前 is listed in the official HSK vocabulary at HSK 3. An intermediate band: enough vocabulary for everyday conversation and travel.

以前 in a sentence

• 我wǒ以yǐ前qián住zhù在zài上shàng海hǎi。

  I used to live in Shanghai.

• 三sān天tiān以yǐ前qián我wǒ们men见jiàn过guò。

  We met three days ago.

• 吃chī饭fàn以yǐ前qián要yào洗xǐ手shǒu。

  Wash your hands before eating.

以前 vs 以后 vs 之前

Similar and easily confused words, and how they differ.

• 以后 yǐ hòu after; later

  Mirror pair — 以前 'before/ago', 以后 'after/later'. Both attach after a time or event: 吃饭以前 'before eating'.

• 之前 zhī qián before; prior to

  Near-synonym: 之前 is 'before' relative to an event (三天之前); 以前 can also name 'the past' generally — 我以前住上海 'I used to live in Shanghai'.