预先

預先

yùxiān

adverb HSK 7 #8,744

Meanings

Both characters mean 'before' — double emphasis on doing something ahead of time

Qǐng yùxiān tōngzhī wǒmen.

Please notify us in advance.

Tā yùxiān zuò hǎo le zhǔnbèi.

He prepared beforehand.

Yùxiān liǎojiě qíngkuàng hěn zhòngyào.

Understanding the situation in advance is very important.

usage

预先 is more formal than 提前 (tíqián). 预先 emphasizes planning ahead, while 提前 can simply mean 'earlier than expected'.

预 yù

先 xiān