前年 (qián nián) — the year before last

Definition

前年 is 'the year before last' — one year further back than 去年. Contrast with 后年 ('the year after next'), which points the same distance forward.

noun

the year before last

前年。
qián nián Wǒ qù le yí tàng běi jīng.
I went to Beijing the year before last.
前年。
qián nián Tā hái shì gè dà xué shēng.
He was still a college student the year before last.
前年？
qián nián Nǐ kāi shǐ xué zhōng wén le ma?
Did you start learning Chinese the year before last?

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.

前 gives 'before' and 年 gives 'year', together naming the year before last, two years before this one.

Characters in this word

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

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

禾禾héwheat; grain

Sound part声符shēngfú

人

人rén年nián

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

年 pairs 禾 (grain) with 人, which gives the sound. Its original meaning was harvest, and it later came to mean a year.

Appears in