前夕

Mandarin · pinyin qián xī

Meanings

  1. eve
  2. the day before
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Characters in this entry

前
qián · in front, forward; preceding
夕
xī · evening, night, dusk; slanted
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–1 · qian2 xi1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cin4 zik6

Cantonese word readings for 前夕. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

  1. eve; the night before
  2. the period of time immediately before an event; eve (of an event)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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