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前後

简前后 · 繁前後

Mandarin · pinyin qián hòu

around
from beginning to end
all around
front and rear

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Characters in this entry

前: qián · in front, forward; preceding
後: hòu · behind, rear, after; descendents
后: hòu · queen, empress, sovereign; (simp. for 後) behind, rear, after

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–4 · qian2 hou4

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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.

前後 · find source passages ↗ · 前后 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cin4 hau6

Cantonese word readings for 前後. 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

front and rear; before and after

adv

(of a point in or period of time) around; about
from beginning to end
continuously; one after another; bit by bit; in turn; successively; in succession

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

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