前身

qiánshēn

noun #34,362

Meanings

1 forerunner
2 predecessor
3 previous form (of an organization etc.)
4 previous incarnation (Buddhism)

Characters

previous / former

body / form / self

Examples

HSK 7-9

这家公司的前身是一家国有工厂。

Zhè jiā gōngsī de qiánshēn shì yì jiā guóyǒu gōngchǎng.

This company's predecessor was a state-owned factory.

HSK 7-9

清华大学的前身是清华学堂。

Qīnghuá Dàxué de qiánshēn shì Qīnghuá Xuétáng.

Tsinghua University's predecessor was Tsinghua College.

Tips

usage

前身 is the standard way to introduce an institution's earlier form - universities, companies, parties, militaries all use this construction: X 的前身是 Y ('X's predecessor is Y'). Religious/poetic sense (Buddhist 'previous incarnation') is rarer in modern speech but lives in fiction.

memory

前 = 'previous' + 身 = 'body / self / form'. The 'previous body' of an organization = what it used to be.

Stroke Order

前 qián

身 shēn