前缘 (qián yuán) — predestined fate; karmic affinity (often from a past life)

Definition

Literary term for a karmic bond or fate carried over from a past life, often explaining an unlikely or fated meeting. Common in literary writing; in everyday speech 缘分 or 姻缘 covers similar ideas.

noun
predestined fatekarmic affinity (often from a past life)

Examples

  • 前缘。
    Tā men xiāng xìn liǎng rén néng xiāng yù shì qián yuán zhù dìng.
    They believe their meeting was a predestined fate from a past life.
  • ，前缘。
    Suī rán zhǐ jiàn guò yí cì, dàn nà zhǒng gǎn jué xiàng shì qián yuán zài xù.
    Even though we've only met once, that feeling seems like a continuation of a karmic bond.
  • 前缘。
    Zhè duàn yǒu qíng huò xǔ jiù shì qián shì de qián yuán.
    This friendship might well be a karmic bond from a previous life.

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qiánprevious
缘yuánaffinity

前 'previous' + 缘 'affinity' gives a bond said to exist before.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 緣; 缘 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
彖
彖tuàn緣⁰yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 緣 puts 糸 (silk) beside 彖, which gives the sound; the simplified 缘 is a later abbreviation.

Open 缘 →

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