前生 (qián shēng) — previous life, former incarnation (Buddhist concept)

Definition

前生 (qián shēng) means 'previous life' — a Buddhist concept of who you were before your current birth, often paired with 今生 ('this life') when discussing fate or cause and effect.

noun
previous lifeformer incarnation (Buddhist concept)

Examples

  • 前生。
    Tā xiāng xìn zì jǐ de qián shēng shì yì míng sēng rén.
    He believes that his previous life was a monk.
  • 前生。
    Jù shuō tā men liǎng rén de yuán fèn shì qián shēng zhù dìng de.
    It is said that the bond between them was destined in a past life.
  • 前生。
    Zhè běn shū tàn tǎo le qián shēng yǔ jīn shēng de yīn guǒ guān xì.
    This book explores the causal relationship between past and present lives.

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
生shēnglife

前 means earlier and 生 means life, giving the sense of a previous life.

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 →

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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