How is 前 pronounced?

前 is pronounced “qián” in pinyin.

What HSK level is 前?

前 belongs to HSK 1 in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.

How do you write 前?

Follow the stroke-order animation above; 前 is written using standard stroke order. Practice it in the writing trainer.

HSK 1locativeverb

前

qián

前 (qián) means “front; forward; ahead; first; top (followed by a number); future; ago; before; BC (e.g. 前293年); former; formerly”. It is an HSK 1 Chinese character in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.

Stroke order

Practice writing

Example

以前我住在这里。

Yǐqián wǒ zhù zài zhèlǐ.

I used to live here.

Words containing 前

前面qián miànahead; in front; preceding; above; also pr. [qián mian]从前cóng qiánpreviously; formerly; once upon a time 以前yǐ qiánbefore; formerly; previous; ago 当前dāng qiánthe present time; to be faced with 提前tí qiánto shift to an earlier date; to do sth ahead of time; in advance 之前zhī qiánbefore; prior to; ago; previously; beforehand 跟前gēn qiánthe front (of); (in) front; (in) sb's presence; just before (a date)目前mù qiánat the present time; currently 前途qián túprospects; future outlook; journey 面前miàn qiánin front of; facing; (in the) presence (of)空前绝后kōng qián jué hòuunprecedented and never to be duplicated; the first and the last; unmatched 前景qián jǐngforeground; vista; (future) prospects; perspective

More HSK 1 vocabulary

HSK 1 →

爱àito love; to be fond of; to like; affection; to be inclined (to do sth); to tend to (happen)的deof; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute); (used to form a nominal expression); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); also pr. [dì] or [di] in poetry and songs 八bāeight; 8 爸爸bà ba(coll.) father; dad 了le(completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)我wǒI; me; my 杯子bēi zicup; glass 是shìto be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion)你好nǐ hǎohello 北京běi jīngBeijing, capital of the People's Republic of China 你nǐyou (informal, as opposed to courteous 您)在zàito exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)

Frequently asked questions

What does 前 mean?: 前 (qián) means “front; forward; ahead; first; top (followed by a number); future; ago; before; BC (e.g. 前293年); former; formerly”. It is an HSK 1 word.
How is 前 pronounced?: 前 is pronounced “qián” in pinyin.
What HSK level is 前?: 前 belongs to HSK 1 in the HSK 3.0 vocabulary.
How do you write 前?: Follow the stroke-order animation above; 前 is written using standard stroke order. Practice it in the writing trainer.

Updated: 2026-07-18