How to say “before” in Chinese
before, in the past
“Before” in Chinese is 以往, yǐ wǎng: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke.
How to pronounce it
以往 is read yǐ wǎng: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
Two third tones in a row: the first one is said as a second tone, but it is still written as a third.
How to write it
On the left, 彳 “step”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “以往”.
More words from the lesson “At first and in past years”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “before” in Chinese?
“Before” in Chinese is 以往, pinyin yǐwǎng.
What does 以往 mean?
以往 (yǐwǎng) means “before, in the past”.
How do you write 以往?
以往 is 2 characters: 以 (yǐ) — by means of; 往 (wǎng) — toward. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 以往?
以往 is read yǐwǎng. Tones: yǐ — third tone, wǎng — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“before” in the lesson “At first and in past years”
This word is from the topic “Time and deadlines” of HSK 6. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free