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跟前 (gēn qián) — by one's side, in one's presence, nearby (of a person or place); just before, on the eve of (a time or event)

Definition

跟前 means 'right by one's side / right next to' (a person or place), or 'just before / on the eve of' (an event). For location it overlaps with 身边 (by a person, abstract) and 面前 (in front of, facing); use 跟前 for physical proximity.

noun
by one's sidein one's presencenearby (of a person or place)just beforeon the eve of (a time or event)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 跟前。
    Tā gēn qián zhàn zhe yí gè xiǎo hái.
    A child is standing by her side.
  • 跟前，。
    Wǒ jiā jiù zài xué xiào gēn qián, zǒu lù wǔ fēn zhōng.
    My home is right near the school, a five-minute walk.
  • 跟前，。
    Kǎo shì gēn qián, tā měi tiān dōu fù xí dào hěn wǎn.
    Just before the exam, he reviewed until very late every day.

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.

跟gēnheel
前qiánfront

跟 (heel) and 前 (front) picture the space before a person's heel, so it can mean nearby or in their presence.

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
足足zúfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn跟gēn
Same sound today

跟 is built from 足 (foot) plus 艮. The 足 part ties the character to foot-related senses, while 艮 gives the sound.

Open 跟 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Directions

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