前 qián in a sentence
Before (front - first - former - earlier - ago)
前 (qián) means Before (front - first - former - earlier - ago). Below are 24 of the 136 sentences on this site that use it — with pinyin, an English translation and audio. All of them were written by hand; none is machine generated.
Dictionary examples
请在 前 台登记。
Qǐng zài qiántái dēngjì.
Please register at the front desk.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 登记
请到 前 台询问。
Qǐng dào qiántái xúnwèn.
Please enquire at the front desk.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 询问
睡 前 要刷牙齿。
Shuì qián yào shuā yáchǐ.
You should brush your teeth before bed.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 牙齿
请到 前 台取包裹。
Qǐng dào qiántái qǔ bāoguǒ.
Please collect the parcel at the front desk.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 取
上课以 前 要预习。
Shàng kè yǐqián yào yùxí.
You should prepare before class.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 预习
面试 前 请系领带。
Miànshì qián qǐng jìlǐngdài.
Please wear a tie before the interview.
Dictionary example · HSK 5 · 系领带
Reading these is one thing; producing 前 yourself is another. Cloze in Context takes a sentence from this same bank, removes one word and asks you to put it back — beginner, intermediate and advanced.
From the graded readers
两年 前 ，我决定开始跑步。
liǎng niánqián, wǒ juédìng kāishǐ pǎobù.
Two years ago I decided to start running.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Keeping Up Running
前 面的问题我都回答得不错。
qiánmian de / dì wèntí wǒ dōu huídá dé / děi / de búcuò.
I answered the first questions well enough.
Graded reader · HSK 3 · The Job Interview
他说：“别看地上，看 前 面。”
tā shuō:" bié kàn / kān dìshàng, kàn / kān qiánmian."
He said, "Don't look at the ground — look ahead."
Graded reader · HSK 3 · Learning to Ride a Bike
以 前 的小路变成了很宽的马路。
yǐqián de / dì xiǎo lù biànchéng le / liǎo / liào hěn kuān de / dì mǎlù.
The little lane had become a wide road.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Going Back Home
门 前 的那棵树比我记得的大了很多。
ménqián de / dì nà / nèi kē shù bǐ wǒ jìde de / dì dà le / liǎo / liào hěnduō.
The tree in front of the door was much bigger than I remembered.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Going Back Home
现在我的中文比以 前 好多了，我很感谢她。
xiànzài wǒ de(possessive) zhōngwén bǐ yǐqián hǎoduō le / liǎo / liào, wǒ hěn gǎnxiè tā.
My Chinese is much better than before now, and I'm grateful to her.
Graded reader · HSK 2 · My Chinese Teacher
三年 前 ，我做了一个让所有人都反对的决定。
sānnián qián, wǒ zuòle yīgè ràng suǒyǒu rén dōu fǎnduì de / dì juédìng.
Three years ago I made a decision everybody was against.
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Changing Jobs
我以 前 不太喜欢吃月饼，可是那天觉得特别好吃。
wǒ yǐqián bù tài xǐhuan chī yuè bǐng, kěshì nà / nèi tiān juéde tèbié hǎo / hào chī.
I'd never much liked mooncakes, but that night they tasted wonderful.
Graded reader · HSK 3 · Mid-Autumn Festival
他看了很久，最后只说了一句：“你比以 前 爱笑了。”
tā kànle hěn jiǔ, zuìhòu zhī shuōle yī jù:" nǐ bǐ yǐqián ài xiào le / liǎo / liào."
He looked around for a long time and in the end said only, "You smile more than you used to."
Graded reader · HSK 4 · Changing Jobs
他说：“很远，你一直往 前 走，到第二个路口往左拐。”
tā shuō:" hěn yuǎn, nǐ yìzhí wǎng / wàng qián zǒu, dào dì'èr gè lù kǒu wǎng / wàng zuǒ guǎi."
He said, "It's a long way. Go straight on and turn left at the second junction."
Graded reader · HSK 3 · Getting Lost
From the travel phrasebook
前 面路口右转。
Qiánmiàn lùkǒu yòu zhuǎn.
Turn right at the next junction.
Travel phrasebook · Taxis and ride-hailing
前 面路口左转。
Qiánmiàn lùkǒu zuǒ zhuǎn.
Turn left at the next junction.
Travel phrasebook · Taxis and ride-hailing
前 appears in 136 sentences on this site; the 24 shortest and most direct are shown. The rest are on the pages they were written for — the graded readers, the phrasebook and the grammar library.
Words that contain 前
Each of these has sentences of its own, so you can see the character doing a different job in each one.
Questions about 前
How is 前 used in a sentence?
This page shows 136 sentences using 前 (qián, "Before (front - first - former - earlier - ago)"), each with pinyin, an English translation and audio. Every one of them was written by hand for this site.
Are these sentences machine generated?
No. They come from the site's own dictionary examples, graded readers, travel phrasebook and grammar library — all written by a person. A word with no sentence gets no page here, rather than a page of invented ones.
Why do some sentences show 前 inside a longer word?
Because that is where a single character usually lives. Seeing 前 inside the words it builds is how the character stops being an isolated symbol and starts being something you can read.
Where can I see the full entry for 前?
The dictionary page for 前 has its stroke order, its traditional form, every sense the dictionary lists and a character-by-character breakdown. It is linked at the top of this page.
Keep going
Read the full entry for 前, write a sentence of your own and check it in the Pinyin Annotator, or search the whole sentence bank for another word.
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