前年

qián nián

HSK 3.0 Level 3 Noun Rare

Definitions

1. the year before last

Word relationships

Related words

2 items

• 去年 qù nián 去年 qù nián last year 去年 is last year, while 前年 is the year before last.: last year
• 明年 míng nián 明年 míng nián next year 明年 is next year, contrasting with the past reference of 前年.: next year

Usage notes

Collocations

前年 is always used with past time markers; never with future adverbs like 明年. Example: 我前年去过北京.

Common mistakes

Learners often confuse 前年 (year before last) with 去年 (last year). Note that 前 means 'earlier' and is two years back.

Example Sentences

1 shown

我 前年 在北京学过中文。

I studied Chinese in Beijing the year before last.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 前年

• 大前年 大前年 dà qián nián: three years ago

Child Words of 前年

• 前 前 qián: front
• 年 年 nián: year