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前 — front; forward; ahead

front; forward; ahead; first; top; future; ago; before; BC

Pinyin
qián
Strokes
9
HSK level
HSK 1
Handwriting
recognition only

How to write 前: 9 strokes

Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. The syllabus asks you to recognise this character rather than write it by hand.

前 — 9 strokes, in writing order from left to right.

Build a printable practice sheet with 前

Words with 前 in the HSK syllabus: 42

Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.

  1. 前qiánfront; forward; ahead; first; top; future; agoHSK 1
  2. 前面qiánmiànahead; in front; preceding; aboveHSK 2
  3. 面前miànqiánin front of; facing; presenceHSK 3
  4. 前年qiánniánthe year before lastHSK 3
  5. 前天qiántiānthe day before yesterdayHSK 3
  6. 以前yǐqiánbefore; formerly; previous; agoHSK 3
  7. 目前mùqiánat the present time; currentlyHSK 4
  8. 前方qiánfāngahead; the frontHSK 4
  9. 前后qiánhòuaround; from beginning to end; all aroundHSK 4
  10. 提前tíqiánto shift to an earlier date; to do sth ahead of timeHSK 4
  11. 眼前yǎnqiánbefore one's eyes; now; at presentHSK 4
  12. 之前zhīqiánbefore; prior to; ago; previously; beforehandHSK 4
  13. 此前cǐqiánbefore this; before then; previouslyHSK 5
  14. 从前cóngqiánpreviously; formerly; once upon a timeHSK 5
  15. 当前dāngqiánthe present time; to be faced withHSK 5
  16. 前进qiánjìnto go forward; to forge ahead; to advance; onwardHSK 5
  17. 前来qiánláito come; before; previouslyHSK 5
  18. 前途qiántúprospects; future outlook; journeyHSK 5
  19. 前往qiánwǎngto leave for; to proceed towards; to go toHSK 5
  20. 跟前gēnqiánthe front; front; sb's presence; just beforeHSK 6
  21. 前景qiánjǐngforeground; vista; prospects; perspectiveHSK 6
  22. 前期qiánqīpreceding period; early stageHSK 6
  23. 前提qiántípremise; precondition; prerequisiteHSK 6
  24. 前者qiánzhěthe formerHSK 6
  25. 日前rìqiánthe other day; a few days agoHSK 6
  26. 先前xiānqiánbefore; previouslyHSK 6
  27. 超前chāoqiánto be ahead of one's timeHSK 7–9
  28. 空前kōngqiánunprecedentedHSK 7–9
  29. 前辈qiánbèisenior; older generation; precursorHSK 7–9
  30. 前程qiánchéngfuture prospectsHSK 7–9
  31. 前赴后继qiánfù-hòujìto advance dauntlessly in wave upon waveHSK 7–9
  32. 前任qiánrènpredecessor; ex-; former; exHSK 7–9
  33. 前所未有qiánsuǒwèiyǒuunprecedentedHSK 7–9
  34. 前台qiántáistage; proscenium; foreground in politics etcHSK 7–9
  35. 前无古人qiánwúgǔrénunprecedented; unheard ofHSK 7–9
  36. 前夕qiánxīeve; the day beforeHSK 7–9
  37. 前线qiánxiànfront line; military front; workface; cutting edgeHSK 7–9
  38. 前沿qiányánforward position; frontier; cutting-edge; forefrontHSK 7–9
  39. 生前shēngqiánduring one's life; while livingHSK 7–9
  40. 史无前例shǐwúqiánlìunprecedented in historyHSK 7–9

And 2 more across the higher levels — the full lists are on the level pages.

Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.