B1 · Grammar reference · ASGTD3L3
Expressing "before" and "after" with "zhiqian" and "zhihou"
The words "before" and "after" can be expressed using 之前 (zhīqián) and 之后 (zhīhòu). They are very similar to 以前 (yǐqián) and 以后 (yǐhòu), but are slightly more formal.
- Keywords
- 之前 · 之后 · 前 · 后 · before · after
- Used for
- Sequencing events in time · Referring to the past · Referring to the future
- Classification
- Nouns · HSK0
Examples (10)
来中国之前，我的汉语很一般。
下班之后给我打个电话。
吃完饭之后去看电影吧？
出国之前，他和女朋友分手了。
她每天放学之后都要去上钢琴课。
他在英国读完了大学，之后回上海了。
她当汉语老师四年多了，之前是教英语的。
老板刚刚回来，之前在休假。
我们都不知道，他之前什么也没说。
我现在去吃饭，之后去见客户。
Further resources
Learn from another explanation
No editorial pick yet for this exact pattern.
Editorial picks are checked for a close topic match. Search results and external content belong to their publishers and may change.
Summary, structure, classification, and adapted sentence examples draw from the AllSet Learning Chinese Grammar Wiki under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0; changes were made. This noncommercial reference is based on an October 2023 snapshot.
Related points