Kilo Lingo

(miàn qián) - in front of, before (someone's face) in Mandarin

miànqián

Traditional: 面前

Line drawing of 面前
Coloured illustration of 面前
HSK 4
#845 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

in front of, before (someone's face)

Word origin

面前 (miànqián) 'in front of' joins 面 'face' with 前 'front, before', so the literal sense is 'before the face'. 面 is a pictograph of a face within its outline; 前 originally showed a foot above a boat, meaning to advance.

Origin
compound
Root
面 (face) + 前 (front, before)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 面

Stroke order for 前

Examples

He spoke in front of everyone.

Be brave in the face of difficulties.

She cried in front of me.

He is very nervous in front of the boss.

Children always obey in front of their parents.

面前 (miàn qián) means in front of, before (someone's face). It is used as a noun in everyday Mandarin speech.

Used in

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Go to my review queue

This word is part of lesson 17.