日前 (rì qián) — a few days ago; the other day (used in formal/w… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal/written word for 'a few days ago' (past). Unlike 最近, it only points to the past and is used in news or official writing, not daily speech.

noun

a few days agothe other day (used in formal/written contexts)

Examples

日前，。
rì qián, Shuāng fāng qiān shǔ le hé zuò xié yì.
A few days ago, the two sides signed a cooperation agreement.
日前。
rì qián Fā bù de shù jù xiǎn shì jīng jì zhèng zài fù sū.
The data released a few days ago shows the economy is recovering.
。
Tā rì qián jiē shòu le méi tǐ de zhuān fǎng.
He gave an exclusive interview to the media a few days ago.

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.

“日” means day and “前” means before, together pointing to a time before now.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

日 originally drew the sun. A mark was added inside to tell it apart from similar square shapes.

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

止止zhǐfoot
舟舟zhōuboat

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Time (Abstract)

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