临行 (lín xíng) — before leaving; on departure

Definition

Literary/formal word meaning 'just before leaving, on the point of departure.' It is a more elegant, written alternative to plain 走 or 离开, often paired with 前/时/之前.

noun
before leavingon departure
Easily confused

Examples

  • 临行，。
    lín xíng Qián, tā gěi fù mǔ dǎ le yí gè diàn huà.
    Before leaving, he called his parents.
  • 临行。
    Tā lín xíng shí dài le hěn duō xíng li.
    She brought a lot of luggage when she was about to leave.
  • 临行，。
    lín xíng Zhī qián, bié wàng le jiǎn chá hù zhào.
    Before leaving, don't forget to check your passport.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

临línjust before
行xíngdeparture

临 “just before” + 行 “departure” gives the time right before leaving.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臨; 临 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 臨, 人 is a person, 臣 is an eye, and 品 is objects, showing a person looking down at objects.

Open 临 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.