Expressing "before" in general with "yiqian"

Using "before" in Chinese is very simple.

Structure

To talk about things in the past "in general", you can use the word 以前 (yǐqián).

以前 + Subject + Verb + Object

Subject + 以前 + Verb + Object

You can use this structure to talk about actions that happened at some unspecified time in the past.

Examples

• 以前我 不 会 中文。Before,I could not speak Chinese.
• 我以前不 喝 啤酒。I didn't drink beer before.
• 以前我 不 喜欢 电影。Before, I didn't like movies.
• 我以前很喜欢吃面条。I'd like noodles before.
• 以前我住在上海。
• 我以前去过纽约。
• 以前我是一个老师。
• 我以前没在医院工作。
• 以前我想做一个生意人。
• 我以前总是喜欢哭。

See also

• In the future in general
• Before a specific time
• At the time when
• Before and after with "zhiqian" and "zhihou"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Boya Chinese Elementary Starter 2 (博雅汉语初经起步篇) (pp. 11) →buy
• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 268) →buy

HSK3