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年前 (nián qián) — before the New Year (especially the Chinese New Year / Spring Festival)

Definition

Refers to the period just before the New Year (especially Spring Festival / 春节), when people finish work and travel home. Pairs naturally with 春节 or 年后 ("after the New Year").

noun
before the New Year (especially the Chinese New Year / Spring Festival)

Examples

  • 年前。
    nián qián Wǒ men dōu hěn máng.
    We are all busy before the New Year.
  • 年前。
    Tā nián qián jiù huí jiā le.
    He went home before the New Year.
  • 年前。
    Zhè xiē gōng zuò yào zài nián qián wán chéng.
    These tasks must be completed before the New Year.

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.

年niányear
前qiánbefore

年 (year) and 前 (before) combine to mean the time before the year, especially before the New Year.

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
禾禾héwheat; grain
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén年nián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

年 pairs 禾 (grain) with 人, which gives the sound. Its original meaning was harvest, and it later came to mean a year.

Open 年 →

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
Festivals & HolidaysTime (Abstract)

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