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年前

niánqián
noun HSK 5 #29,574

Meanings

  1. 1 before the New Year (Spring Festival)
  2. 2 years ago (with a number: 三年前 = three years ago)

Characters

年
nián
year; New Year
前
qián
before; in front of
Before the (New) Year - can mean either 'before Spring Festival' or 'X years ago' depending on context.

Examples

HSK 1
三年前我去过中国。
Sān nián qián wǒ qù guò Zhōngguó.
I went to China three years ago.
HSK 2
年前的火车票特别难买。
Niánqián de huǒchēpiào tèbié nán mǎi.
Train tickets before the New Year are especially hard to buy.
HSK 4
年前我们要把房子打扫干净。
Niánqián wǒmen yào bǎ fángzi dǎsǎo gānjìng.
We need to clean the house before the New Year.

Tips

usage
When 年前 stands alone, it usually means 'before Spring Festival' - the busiest travel period in China (春运). When preceded by a number (两年前, 十年前), it simply means 'X years ago.'
culture
The period before Chinese New Year is when hundreds of millions of migrant workers travel home - the largest annual human migration on Earth, called 春运.

Stroke Order

年 nián
前 qián