前天 (qián tiān) — the day before yesterday | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

The day before yesterday, formed with 前 ('before') + 天 ('day'). Use 昨天 for yesterday; 前年 (前 + 年) is the same 'one unit back' idea for years.

noun

the day before yesterday

Examples

前天。
Wǒ qián tiān mǎi le yí jiàn xīn yī fu.
I bought a new piece of clothing the day before yesterday.
前天。
qián tiān Tā gěi wǒ dǎ le yí gè diàn huà.
He gave me a phone call the day before yesterday.
前天，。
qián tiān Shì xīng qī yī, jīn tiān shì xīng qī sān.
The day before yesterday was Monday, and today is Wednesday.

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.

The word joins 前, 'before', and 天, 'day', for the day before today.

Characters in this word

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng天tiān

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 3 Days & Weeks

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