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正前方 (zhèng qián fāng) — straight ahead; dead ahead; right ahead

Definition

前方 means 'the area in front / ahead'; 正前方 emphasizes straight directly ahead, not just somewhere ahead. Often used in directions, narration, and travel contexts.

noun
straight aheaddead aheadright ahead

Examples

  • ，正前方。
    Cóng zhè r yì zhí zǒu, zhèng qián fāng jiù shì dì tiě zhàn.
    Walk straight from here, and the subway station is right ahead.
  • 正前方，。
    Tā men cháo zhe zhèng qián fāng de fāng xiàng kàn qù, zhǐ jiàn yí piàn dà hǎi.
    They looked in the direction straight ahead and saw a vast sea.
  • ，正前方，。
    Tā zhàn zài shān dǐng, wàng xiàng zhèng qián fāng, qún shān lián mián.
    He stood on the mountaintop, gazing straight ahead at the rolling mountains.

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.

正zhèngstraight
前方front direction
前qiánfront方fāngdirection/place
偏正Modifier + head

正 'straight' narrows 前方 'front direction' to the place dead ahead.

Characters in this word

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
止止zhǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng正zhèng
Same sound today

正 pairs 止 with 丁; 止 marks the sense and 丁 gives the sound.

Open 正 →

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 方 →
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