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前景 (qián jǐng) — (photography, painting) foreground; future prospects, outlook, vista

Definition

前景 has two senses: literally the 'foreground' in a photo or painting, and figuratively the 'future prospects' of a career, industry, or plan. The figurative sense is broader than 前途 (career only) and 前程 (more formal).

noun
(photography, painting) foregroundfuture prospectsoutlookvista

Examples

  • 前景，。
    Zhè zhāng zhào piàn de qián jǐng tài mó hu le, kàn bù qīng chǔ.
    The foreground of this photo is too blurry to see clearly.
  • 前景。
    Zhè ge háng yè de fā zhǎn qián jǐng fēi cháng guǎng kuò.
    The development prospects of this industry are very broad.
  • 前景。
    Tā duì zì jǐ de zhí yè qián jǐng hěn yǒu xìn xīn.
    He is very confident about his career prospects.

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.

前qiánfront
景jǐngscene/view

前 (front) and 景 (scene/view) give the view ahead or future prospects.

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.

Open 前 →

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
日日rìsun
Sound part声符shēngfú
京
京jīng景jǐng
Same sound today

景 has 日 (sun) with 京, which gives its sound; it originally meant sunlight.

Open 景 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Abstract ConceptsPhotography & Design

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