Before and After in Chinese: 以前 (yǐ​qián) and 以后 (yǐhòu)

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How to say “before” in Chinese – 以前 (yǐ​qián)

The Chinese word for “before” is 以yǐ前qián (yǐ​qián), and is used slightly differently to English in that it does not come at the beginning of a sentence.

In Chinese “before” comes at the end of the clause, while in English “before” can be used before or after the clause

Chinese: 。。。以yǐ前qián
English: Before。。。
English: 。。。Before

Example:
我wǒ上shàng学xué以yǐ前qián，,想xiǎng要yào吃chī早zǎo餐cān
wǒ shàng​xué yǐ​qián, xiǎng​yào chī zǎo​cān
Before school I want to eat breakfast (“before” at beginning of sentence)
I want to each breakfast before school (“before” at beginning of sentence)

Chinese English
我wǒ (wǒ) I
上shàng学xué (shàng​xué) attend school
以yǐ前qián (yǐ​qián) before
想xiǎng要yào (xiǎng​yào) want
吃chī (chī) eat
早zǎo餐cān (zǎo​cān) breakfast
Example Sentence Breakdown

How to say “after” in Chinese – 以后 (yǐhòu)

The Chinese word for “after” is 以yǐ后hòu (yǐ​hòu), and is used in the same way as “before” 以前 (yǐ​qián), where it is not placed at the beginning of a sentence.

In Chinese “after” comes at the end of the clause, while in English “after” can be used before or after the clause

Chinese: 。。。以yǐ后hòu
English: After。。。
English: 。。。After

Example:
我wǒ上shàng学xué以yǐ后hòu，,想xiǎng要yào吃chī午wǔ餐cān
wǒ shàng​xué yǐ​hòu, xiǎng​yào chī wǔ​cān
After school I want to eat lunch (“after” at end of sentence)
I want to each lunch after school (“after” at end of sentence)

Chinese English
我wǒ (wǒ) I
上shàng学xué (shàng​xué) attend school
以yǐ后hòu (yǐ​hòu) after
想xiǎng要yào (xiǎng​yào) want
吃chī (chī) eat
早zǎo餐cān (zǎo​cān) breakfast
Example Sentence Breakdown

Using 以前 (yǐ​qián) and 以后 (yǐhòu) in the past tense

If the sentence happens in the past, you can add 了le (le) after the verb in the second clause of the sentence. For example:

上shàng学xué以yǐ前qián，,我wǒ吃chī了le早zǎo餐cān
shàng​xué yǐ​qián, wǒ chī le zǎo​cān
Before school I ate breakfast (past tense)

上shàng学xué以yǐ后hòu，,我wǒ吃chī了le午wǔ餐cān
shàng​xué yǐ​hòu, wǒ chī le wǔ​cān
After school I ate lunch (past tense)

The placement of 了le (le) after the verb in the second clause may be easier to understand if you remember the sentence structure when using “before” 以yǐ前qián (yǐ​qián) or “after” 以yǐ后hòu (yǐ​hòu) is:

Sentence structure with “before”: <first clause> 以yǐ前qián，<second clause>
Sentence structure with “after”: <first clause> 以yǐ后hòu，<second clause>

Summary

“before” 以yǐ前qián (yǐ​qián) or “after” 以yǐ后hòu (yǐ​hòu) are very simple to use, the main points to remember is:

  • Don’t start a sentence with these, they are place at the end of the first clause.
  • 了le (le) is used to denote past tense and is place after the verb in the second clause of the sentence.

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