公元前 (gōng yuán qián) — before the common era (B.C.) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A bound term meaning 'before the Common Era' (B.C.) — pairs with a number and a year unit like 年 or 世纪. Use it (not 公元后) when referring to dates earlier than year 1.

noun

before the common era (B.C.)

Examples

公元前300。
Zhè ge shì jiàn fā shēng zài gōng yuán qián 300 nián.
This event happened in 300 BC.
公元前5，。
gōng yuán qián 5 Shì jì, gǔ xī là wén míng dá dào dǐng fēng.
In the 5th century BC, ancient Greek civilization reached its peak.
公元前221。
Qín shǐ huáng tǒng yī zhōng guó shì zài gōng yuán qián 221 nián.
Qin Shi Huang unified China in 221 BC.

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.

公元common era

公gōngcommon元yuánera

偏正Modifier + head

公元前 marks the time before 公元, the common era.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

One theory sees 公 as a picture of a wide-mouthed, round-bottomed jar.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 元 shows a figure with two lines for a head, one connected to the body and one above it, emphasizing the head.

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

止止zhǐfoot
舟舟zhōuboat

In the older form of 前, 止 (foot) and 舟 (boat) showed a foot on a boat moving forward; in the current 前 those parts are shortened.

Appears in

History Time (Abstract)

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